Midnight White
by Alaena F. Dragonstar
Summary: An explosion at a KID heist puts an unpleasant end to the night. But it was only the beginning. It started when Takagi disappeared. :KaiShin:
1. The Disappearing Policeman

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

**Main Pairing**: KaiShin [KaitoxShinichi]

**Side Pairs**: HakubaxAoko, HeijixKazuha, OCxRan, TakagixSatou

**Warnings**: Going to be kind of a long story.

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><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

1: The Disappearing Policeman

It was one of KID's biggest productions to date. The target of the heist was a rather large sapphire set into the eye of a magnificent statue which in turn was the centerpiece of a fountain that sat smack in the middle of the central courtyard of the city's new science museum. The courtyard itself was covered by a sprawling, stained glass dome that spread from the eight different buildings forming the complex. As that meant there were also eight open courts, one between each pair of buildings, all of KID's fans were vying for a position where they may actually be able to see the thief up close. This meant the police had their work cut out for them keeping people from slipping in where they could only get in the way. Nakamori could be heard cursing the damned magician for choosing to stage a heist that wasn't inside a building (with a target that couldn't be moved), but the audience didn't care and his task force were too busy keeping people back to calm him down. Besides, they knew any attempt would be a lost cause. The man had been in a particularly foul mood ever since the last heist and the picture of him dangling upside down by one foot in a butterfly costume had made it onto the front page of the papers. It had only added fuel to the fire that KID's notice this time around had begun with the—in Nakamori's opinion—horrendously insulting phrase 'Greetings, my most loyal followers'. Several of his officers would swear that their ears were still ringing from his outraged tirade at seeing _that_.

For his part Shinichi was glad the crowds were so big that night. It meant that it was easy for him to avoid Ran who had been dragged to the event by an overly excited Sonoko. Things had been rocky between them for a while now. He let out a quiet sigh at the recollection that no one heard over the roar of the masses. Two weeks ago he had done as he had promised and told her everything that had happened over the last two years. She had, to his surprise, listened to the whole thing in silence. When he was done she had remained silent for several more minutes before saying "I see", getting up, and leaving without another word. It wasn't the reaction he'd expected. Well, truth be told he hadn't known what to expect, but utter silence had definitely not been it.

After that she had stopped talking to him altogether. So he'd decided it was probably best to let her simmer down before trying to talk to her again. After having gotten used to seeing her everyday, it was taking some getting used to. Still…it bothered him a bit that it didn't bother him _more_. There was the nagging fear of losing one of the few real friends he had, but nothing more or less than that. Maybe it was because he knew now that she would never really understand him (not that that was really new news, he mused, they'd never had much in common). And, well, frankly he wasn't sure he could understand her either. So in a way it was probably best that they knew that now.

Still, he kind of wished…that things were different. It seemed he was getting to know less and less about himself with every passing day. There was something incredibly unsettling about that. Life wasn't supposed to work that way, was it? Surely it was supposed to be the other way around.

"Oi! Kudo! Why're you just standing here?" A dark-skinned hand fell on his shoulder and began to propel him forcibly through the crowd. "Come on, the heist's about to start! If we don't get through this lot before KID shows up we'll probably get stampeded to death."

Noting the extreme likelihood of this hypothesis—KID's fans were an enthusiastic lot and this was one of the few heists where they might actually be able to see the thief up close—Shinichi picked up his pace.

Even with Hattori's liberal use of elbows and swearing it took them nearly ten whole minutes to make it to the line of police holding back the spectators. There they had to shout at the top of their lungs for another five minutes before the officers understood what they were there for. It seemed these officers were new to the force and didn't recognize either detective on sight. At least one of them went so far as to accuse them of being KID fans trying to use the names of prominent detectives to sneak in. That particular genius received a deluge of accented curses for his troubles and Shinichi was beginning to wonder if he'd have to stop Hattori from throwing a few irate punches when one of the older task force members showed up and rescued everyone involved by knowing who they were.

Of course, that led to the customary face pinch and pull, but after that they were allowed through so that Nakamori could take a turn at shouting at them not to get in his way.

Oh what fun, Shinichi thought wryly. It was nice to know that no matter what happened in his tumultuous life some things would never change.

Shinichi had positioned himself beside one of the museum windows where he could get a good view of both the fountain in the center of the courtyard and the inside of the main museum building. It was because of this choice of locations that he saw the shadow creeping into one of the inner exhibition rooms. He could tell from the slightly clumsy movements that it wasn't KID, but obviously it wasn't someone who belonged here either.

It seemed someone might have decided to use the KID heist as a distraction so that they could steal their own share of goods from the museum.

Shinichi eyed the creeper for a moment, debating with himself. The heist was about to start, but on the other hand he couldn't just sit by and watch whoever that was go about his or her illegal business. KID he knew was technically harmless as far as people's lives went, but this creeper might not be. And there was certainly no lack of people around the museum tonight.

Making up his mind, Shinichi slipped away from the main courtyard and made his way to one of the museum's many doors. It had been left open as several officers were stationed just inside it. Shinichi negotiated his way inside and headed towards the exhibition room he'd seen the shadow moving into.

This particular wing of the museum was dedicated towards various chemical discoveries and inventions. Walking through it was like walking through a science fiction movie. Soft lights glowed from inside different displays, some of which bubbled softly as others swirled with neon lights meant to highlight whatever invention they were displaying. The exhibition room however was almost entirely dark. A sign outside proclaimed that it would not be open for another three months. There was no one inside. What there was instead was the faint outline of light seeping through the cracks around a door. The door was slightly ajar.

Making his way over, Shinichi peeked inside. The room beyond the door looked like some kind of laboratory. A few of the signs that had been put up made Shinichi think that it was probably meant to be a hands on exhibit in the future where visitors might be able to view various types of chemical reactions in a 'safe' environment. At the moment however the place made Shinichi think of a mad scientist's heaven.

And there at the massive bank of computers that dominated the center of the lab was a person dressed from head to toe in concealing, black cloth. He couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman but whoever it was knew their way around a computer. Their fingers were flying over the keys and Shinichi had a very bad feeling about the whole situation.

Deciding it would be best to interrupt whatever was being set in motion, Shinichi pushed the door open and stepped in, automatically scanning the room to check for alternate exits. There was only one other door but it was much farther away from the main computers than the one he had come through. "Stop right there!"

The intruder jerked around to reveal that its face too was almost entirely hidden by black cloth. Kind of like a mummy in black wrappings, some corner of Shinichi's mind remarked. The rest of his mind however focused on the way the intruder spun and bolted.

Shinichi's feet started moving before his mind could give the command and he raced to intercept the fleeing mummy in black. The mummy had a head start but Shinichi was the faster runner. He was gaining.

The mummy stopped abruptly beside a bank of large, glass displays. Shinichi's steps faltered slightly as he saw the person's hand emerge from a hidden pocket with something that glinted. A weapon? But no, it looked more like a bottle—

Glass shattered beneath a black, booted foot that must have had steel caps on.

Shinichi could see the moment whatever was inside the tanks flashed and sparked. The mummy set off again but Shinichi lost track of it an instant later as the entire lab went up in a nearly silent explosion.

A bluish smoke gushed through the museum and out over the screaming crowds. The once excited screams turned to shrieks of confusion and then terror as flames followed the blue mist.

X

Kuroba Kaito, the man behind the glamour that was Kaitou KID, had watched the commotion that was his fans and his task force duking it out for the best spots at his upcoming show from the shadows amidst a particularly elaborate set of sculptures adorning the upper balconies of the main museum building. The turnout this evening had been even better than he'd expected and it was making his blood sing with excitement. This was going to be one heist no one ever forgot! Of course, that was his goal with every heist, but for an audience this big he was definitely going to have to do something extra. To make things even better, he had not only his task force but three detectives to play with today.

Sharp, indigo eyes zeroed in on the Detective of the East the moment the boy emerged from the flailing crowds to be subjected to Nakamori's unwelcoming bellows. He hadn't seen Shinichi for a while now and he was pleasantly surprised to note that the detective was back in his teens. He wondered idly if it was permanent this time. After all, he hadn't heard anything about Conan for weeks.

Well, whatever the reason behind the boy's appearance tonight, the important part was that he was here and this night was looking more fun by the moment.

With all the possibilities whirling through his mind, Kaito was a bit confused to see the focus of his attention making his way indoors mere minutes before the time when the show was scheduled to begin.

"And where do you think you're going?" he muttered under his breath as he craned his neck for a better look at the door the detective had gone through. That was the courtyard entrance for the lab exhibits. He remembered seeing Nakamori posting guards there in case KID decided to make a surprise entrance from indoors. Why the man thought he'd choose such a difficult to see place to make his entrance he had no idea. It was just one of those things about Nakamori, he supposed. Tantei-kun on the other hand surely knew he wouldn't be down there where nobody not in the immediate vicinity would see him.

Well, he'd have to investigate it later. Right now he had a show to open.

X

"Look!" Suzuki Sonoko shrieked in excitement as she latched onto her best friend's arm and pointed towards the stained glass dome overhead where a flock of doves had apparently detached themselves from the glass and were now circling the courtyard in a flurry of white wings.

Mouri Ran, the friend to whom the arm Sonoko was clutching belonged, winced as her friend's excited clutches cut off the circulation in her arm. The sight of all the birds was surprising and neat and all but it was hard to appreciate anything when she was starting to lose all the feeling in one arm. "Sonoko, could you please let go?"

Sonoko wasn't listening as all the lights in the courtyard chose that moment to go out. A single spotlight flickered to life to follow the circling doves, making the birds look almost like they were glowing as they turned and swooped in low over the crowd. People everywhere yelled and waved as Nakamori yelled for his men to get ready. Then the doves spiraled in upon the fountain and in a flurry of feathers they were no longer alone. There, balanced on top of the fountain's central statue, was the white clad form of the thief everyone had come to see.

Ran let out a sigh of relief as Sonoko relinquished her arm in order to wave fanatically at her 'KID-sama'.

Ran on the other hand found herself looking not at the thief but at the officers swarming towards the fountain. She remembered catching a glimpse of Shinichi earlier talking to the police. The thought made her stomach twist unpleasantly.

It wasn't that she was really angry at him, she thought. Or at least she wouldn't call it anger. She'd been mad for a while, certainly. It wasn't even so much the lies but the fact that he'd apparently been _right there_ the whole time and _seen_ how worried she had been and yet just let it go on. It was that more than anything that bothered her and she wasn't sure if she would ever be ready to forgive him for that. But no, she wasn't really angry anymore, just…disappointed, maybe.

When she saw him these days it always felt like she was looking at a stranger who just happened to resemble someone she used to know. It was a confusing and unpleasant feeling and it left her uncertain as to what to say or do. She'd been waiting all this time for him to come home only to find that he never would because the person she'd been expecting didn't really exist anymore.

And really she was beginning to wonder if she'd ever understood him at all.

Well, there wasn't much point in speculating about it now.

X

Shinichi coughed as the smoke billowed around him. Covering his nose and mouth with his sleeve, he ran in the direction he thought the door was. Behind him something crackled and sizzled and he could feel pulses of something cold washing over him every few steps.

Then the sparks began to dance and his vision was getting blurry. The smoke didn't smell like the kind that came off burning things, but it wasn't oxygen either and his mind was starting to spin as black spots danced across his vision.

The ground beneath his feet heaved like the deck of a ship on a storm tossed sea. His knees hit cold, granite floors and he doubled over, struggling for just one breath of clear air.

It was starting to feel like something was burning in his chest.

The last thing he heard before the world vanished was the shrill scream of a siren.

X

Kaito had secured his gem for the night and the best part of the fun was just about to begin when several of the ground floor windows of one of the museum buildings flashed and there was the sound of shattering glass. The museum's alarms went off with a shriek. When the blue tinted smoke began billowing from all the main building's windows he knew that something was seriously wrong. And he hadn't seen Shinichi come out of the building. Torn between irritation at having such a wonderful evening so rudely interrupted and concern, he pulled on one of the gas masks he kept with him. No one was paying attention to him anymore—not that they could see much through the smoke—so it was easy to slip through one of the windows on the second floor which he'd unlocked earlier that day in case he needed it. Trusting Nakamori to get the people outside to safety, he slid quickly inside and made a beeline for where he remembered the stairs were located.

The closer to the stairs the less the smoke looked like smoke. Now and then crackles of pale blue energy would flicker through it like currents of electricity. The currents were accompanied by sparks ranging from pale purple in color to a fiery red. It might have been pretty if it hadn't been accompanied by the occasional lick of very real flames. They were spikes of heat in the slightly chilly fog.

The visibility was dropping rapidly and Kaito was beginning to seriously wonder what he should do if he couldn't find Shinichi when the issue was taken out of his hands as he literally tripped over his quarry.

Kaito caught himself before he could fall and crouched down beside the detective's unmoving form. He shook Shinichi's shoulder after checking his pulse but got no response. On an impulse he pulled off a glove and pressed the back of his hand to the other's forehead. The heat that greeted his touch was definitely not normal. Tantei-kun hadn't looked sick earlier though.

What was in this smoke? Well, whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

First thing first then, he had to get them both out of here before whatever had set off all this weird smoke decided it was time to up the ante.

"Things can't ever be normal when you're around, can they?" he mused aloud as he gathered the unconscious detective into his arms and headed back for the stairs, trusting his memory to guide his steps since he couldn't see more than a foot in front of his face. Behind him the blue and green flames which had taken over from the orange slowly began to creep through the veil of smoke, the eerie light of their writhing shapes strange and almost ghostly despite the very real ferocity of the crackle of their hunger.

X

"Kudo!" Hattori called out over the pushing, shoving crowd as he searched frantically for his vanished friend. "Damnit! I turn around for _one minute_—Kudo!"

But there was no answer and no sign anywhere that his fellow detective was near. What he did see was Kazuha waving frantically at him from an alcove beside a rather large potted plant. Giving up on finding Shinichi for the time being, he waded through the masses towards her.

"Heiji!" she called the moment he was within earshot. "What's happening?"

"I have no idea," he replied honestly as he shouldered past one last pair of onlookers and joined her in the relative calm of the alcove. "Something went off in the museum. They're trying to get everyone out of here before they go check it out. Are you all right?"

"Just a bit shaken," she replied with a strained smile as her eyes swept over him in search of injuries. "I thought for a moment I was going to suffocate in there with all that smoke but I ran into that other detective and he helped me get here."

"Other detective?" Heiji repeated, wondering if she'd seen Shinichi. Only if that were the case why didn't she use his name? "Do you know where he went?"

"The blond one," she elaborated. "I think he said his name was Hakuba. Anyway, he said he had to go find someone called Aoko and left in a hurry." She paused for a moment when she saw him frown. "What's wrong?"

Deciding not to mention the long, long list of 'wrongs' that hearing the name Hakuba brought to mind, Heiji focused instead on a more pressing concern. "I can't find Kudo."

"Wasn't he with you just earlier?"

"Was, yeah, but he disappeared just before all this smoke started pouring outta nowhere and I haven't seen him since. I get the feeling he might have gone in to see what all the commotion started from but the police won't let me in!"

The look she gave him clearly said she thought the police had the right idea. "That's just stupid. That's a chemical lab exhibit in there! Who knows what could happen next! You can go in when they're sure nothing's going to explode or anything else like that. I'm sure even Kudo-kun would wait that long before running into a building spewing blue smoke and rainbow sparks just to see what caught fire."

Heiji let his breath out in a rush and leaned back agains the towering, stone vase of the potted plant. "I hope you're right."

It took the police nearly a whole hour to clear everyone out of the museum. Heiji and Kazuha stayed in their alcove with the potted plant all the way up to the last moment but Nakamori wouldn't hear of letting them stay. He said in no uncertain terms that no one had been found inside the museum and that it would be up to the museum technicians to figure out what had gone wrong now. As for meddling high school kids who liked to fancy themselves detectives—well, he wasn't going to deal with them now when he didn't have to and the KID heist was obviously over for the night so they'd better clear out before he had them all arrested for interfering with police matters.

Heiji had a lot of things he would have liked to say to that, but Kazuha grabbed him firmly by the arm and dragged him away before any of them could leave his mouth.

"There's a reason we have telephones, Heiji," she snapped when he protested. "If we don't get going now we're going to miss our train and since Kudo-kun might not be home yet we won't even have anywhere to stay. I don't know about you but I'm not spending a night at the park or something just because you couldn't keep your mouth shut for once."

Heiji opened his mouth to defend himself, then thought better of it. She had a few good points, but still… "Man Kazuha, are you sure you're all right? You've been biting my head off all night!"

She paused for a moment as they reached a street corner, raising a hand to her forehead. Then she let out a tired sigh. "I—I'm sorry. I've just been feeling a bit sick…"

"What?" Alarmed by the sudden change in his friend's demeanor, he turned to look her over. She did look a bit pale… "Why didn't you say something sooner if you were sick?"

"It's not serious," she replied a bit defensively. "I'm sure it was just the smoke. You know, lack of air and all that. It'll pass."

Heiji frowned, not quite believing her. Her voice had come out much too faint for his liking and she seemed to be swaying on her feet. Reaching out on an impulse, he wrapped an arm securely around her to keep her from falling. "Come on, let's get you home."

He could call Kudo in the morning and berate him for pulling the disappearing act again. For now he had to make sure Kazuha got home and had a good rest. Why hadn't he noticed sooner that she wasn't feeling well? Ugh, he was supposed to be a great detective! If it had started with the smoke then she must have been feeling off for that entire hour they'd been waiting. Cursing himself for his inattention, he turned them towards the train station.

X

This, Kaito reflected, had definitely not been on any of his plans for the night. He was now in a small apartment several streets away from the museum with an unconscious detective tucked in the bed with a cool cloth over his head.

His first thought had been to take the detective back to the Kudo Manor, but then he remembered that Shinichi lived alone. It would be pointless to take him there only to leave him by himself. There was the hospital of course, but just dropping the boy off there would feel a bit like abandoning him. So instead he'd brought the detective to one of his safe houses instead before calling his mom and telling her that he was spending the night at a friend's. Technically he supposed he could have still taken Shinichi to the Kudo Manor and simply hung around long enough to make sure he was okay, but this place was much closer and just more convenient all round. Even so it still hadn't been exactly what one would call close.

Carrying the detective all that way without being seen had been a bit tricky but he wasn't a phantom thief for nothing. And not once through the entire journey had Shinichi so much as twitched.

That was somewhat concerning.

The detective was worryingly light too. Kaito was by no means an expert on human health, but he was pretty sure people weren't supposed to be that thin. Maybe it was a side effect of growing up again? After all elementary school kids naturally needed less in the way of nutrients than teenagers. So it wouldn't be that surprising if the sudden change from eight to eighteen led to some (hopefully) minor problems.

Shaking away those unpleasant thoughts for the time being, Kaito set about exchanging his KID uniform for something less distinctive. He didn't generally need much sleep—which was good luck on his part since he spent so many of his nights running around high security museums and mansions, but even he was feeling a bit tired after all the commotion. And he'd been feeling a bit off balance since he'd gotten a whiff of that smoke. Not enough for him to think it was anything dangerous, but he definitely needed a few hours to sleep it off. Then he could figure out what to do with Shinichi and maybe find out what the hell had happened back in that museum.

X

Takagi Wataru groaned as the shrill cry of his alarm clock cut through the fog of sleep. Prying his eyes open, he levered himself out of bed and stumbled to the desk where the clock sat. He turned it off with a sigh and set about getting ready to go to work.

In retrospect going to see the KID heist the night before an early morning investigation probably hadn't been the best idea, but Miwako had been so excited and he just couldn't not go with her. And, well, it had been nice to spend time with her. They hadn't had much leisure time together for a while now with all the clean up going on surrounding that criminal organization that had apparently kept Kudo-kun away for so long. Not that Division One had all that much to do with the operation—it was being handled mostly internationally and was just about over with—but as several of the organization's agents had been caught in Tokyo they had inevitably been drawn into it.

He had to wonder how Kudo-kun had gotten himself mixed up in the whole thing. Takagi himself was an adult and a policeman with some experience and he still felt a bit out of his depth. Then again the young detective had been looking a little worn out himself. Takagi remembered the boy from before his disappearance, and it seemed to him that the Kudo-kun who had come back wasn't the one who had left.

Well, it wasn't really his place to speculate about it.

If he didn't hurry he was going to be late and then Megure-keibu was going to have his head. And Miwako wouldn't be too happy either.

With that in mind, he grabbed his keys and bolted for the door. He reached the station just in time. Letting out a breath of relief, he reached for the door just as it opened.

He stepped aside quickly as two officers walked out.

"Good morning," he greeted them, but neither of them heard him and in moments they were gone. Shrugging it off, he entered the station and headed for Megure-keibu's office.

He stepped in just in time to hear the inspector shout, "Where's Takagi? He should've been here by now?"

"I'm here, Sir," he said quickly, stepping up to the desk.

Megure turned around then frowned, his eyes scanning the room. "That's strange," he mumbled to himself after a moment. "I could've sworn I just heard…" Trailing off, he shook his head and strode out the door to shout to the rest of the station. "If any of you see Takagi, tell him I've gone ahead and he'd better have a damned good explanation for being so late!"

Takagi stared after the man with his mouth slightly agape. What was going on? The inspector had walked right past him! As though he wasn't even there!

Confused, he stood in the empty office for several minutes before making his way outside. No one he walked by looked at him or spoke to him. When he said things people glanced around like they thought they'd heard something but they inevitably turned away, dismissing it as nothing more than a whisper form their imagination. He was starting to feel distinctly…well, freaked out. In the end he took refuge in the bathroom where he splashed cold water over his face in an attempt to calm his nerves.

It was working until he looked up and found himself facing the mirror over the sink.

The mirror showed only the bathroom behind him.

He had no reflection.

**TBC**

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><p><strong>A.N<strong>: Wow, this makes DCMk fic number ten. Anyhow, this story is going to have a slightly larger array of character focuses than any of my other ones, but it's still mainly going to be on Kaito and Shinichi, since it's me writing. It's also going to be kind of long—though not in the freakishly long way Travelers is (for anyone who cares, yes, I'm still working on that). Well, I hope you found it interesting and I'll see you next time. I'll try to update this at least every two weeks. ^_^


	2. Of Walls and Sudden Chills

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

**On the Pairs**: To the person who doesn't approve of the main pair listed for this story and anyone who might share their opinion, I'm sorry but it's not changing. If you dislike the idea of it that much, then please just don't read.

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><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

2: Of Walls and Sudden Chills

Shinichi woke to the annoyingly insistent sound of his cell phone ringing. Every muscle in his body ached and even lying down it felt like everything was rocking. And it was cold—freezing even despite the blankets all around him. Groaning, he buried his face in the pillow and tried to tune out the irritating ringing.

Eventually the phone stopped and he let out a breath of relief only to groan again as the rings started up once more.

Turning over, Shinichi made a grab for his nightstand where he usually put his phone before bed. His fingers brushed only empty air. And why did the ring sound like it was so far away?

The ringing stopped abruptly as a voice—_his own voice_—rattled off a greeting.

Blue eyes flew open as Shinichi shot bolt upright. His head objected to the sudden movement though so he lay back down and looked around. This was not his room. And that person standing over there by the door with his phone, chatting to what was apparently Hattori in Shinichi's voice, was most definitely not anyone who frequented his house.

The stranger was in his late teens and from what Shinichi could see from where he lay probably a little taller than the detective himself. He was wearing a baseball hat despite being indoors and his clothes were a fairly nondescript T-shirt and jeans. The voice impersonation however gave Shinichi a fairly good idea of who it probably was.

"I'm sorry for leaving without saying anything," KID was telling Hattori for the tenth time that morning accompanied by a longsuffering sigh that Shinichi would probably have emitted if it had really been him on the phone. Which, as far as Hattori was concerned, it was. "I need to get going. You can yell all you want next time I see you or something." He hung up and turned to Shinichi with an all too familiar grin stretched beneath the equally familiar monocle. "Man Tantei-han's got lungs like old man Nakamori."

"Where am I?" Shinichi demanded, frowning at the smiling thief. "And what are you doing here?"

KID put on a thinking face. "Let's see. You're in one of my little hideaways, and obviously I'm here because it's mine."

"How did I get here?"

"I brought you," came the casual reply, unperturbed by the sheer ridiculousness of the situation painting itself in Shinichi's head. "I would have thought that would be obvious."

Shinichi felt his frown deepen. There was just something not right about all this. He, a detective, was lying in a room in one of KID, a thief's, hideouts. And the thief in question was chatting like there was nothing at all weird about that. Then again, this _was_ KID. Nothing about him was ever normal.

"But why am I here?" he asked finally. His slightly muddled mind was having a hard time remembering exactly what had happened the other night.

"Well, I was kind of hoping you could help me fill in the blanks about that," the thief replied cheerfully as he pulled up a chair and sat down beside the bed. "You see, there I was, with all my plans unfolding beautifully and the show just getting to the best part when everything goes up in smoke—literally—and I have to go fish you out of what was beginning to look like the aurora come down for a visit. What happened in there?"

Shinichi turned his gaze up to the blank ceiling as he thought back on the fuzzy memories of last night. "Someone was in there," he said finally. "I'm not sure what they were after, but when they saw me they ran—put something inside one of the chemical exhibits in the lab they hadn't opened yet. That's what set off the smoke and lights."

"I see. Must have been some interesting stuff to get that kind of effect. So how're you feeling?"

"Fine," Shinichi replied automatically. "Uh, thank you—for getting me out of there."

"No problem. I couldn't well let my favorite critic suffocate on my watch."

Shinichi snorted softly before letting his breath out in a silent sigh. "I guess I'd better get going."

He made to sit up again but a hand on his chest stopped him.

"Sick people should stay in bed," KID admonished when Shinichi shot him a confused look.

"I'm not sick," he protested just as the entire room spun before his eyes again and he had to squeeze them shut.

"Riiight. I can see you are in perfect health."

"Your bedside manner is terrible," Shinichi grumbled, cracking open one eye just enough to glare at the grinning magician. Honestly, of all the people who could have pulled him out of that museum, _why_ did it have to be _KID_?

"And you're hardly a straight A patient so we're even," the magician countered with obvious amusement before standing up and stretching. "I've got a few things to tend to. I'll be right back," he announced as he paused by the door. "Don't try to leave," he added as an afterthought before breezing out the door. Shinichi thought a bit wryly that coming out of anyone else that warning would probably have come attached to some kind f 'or else'. Still, he had the feeling it was better just to do as he'd been told for now and stay put. At least until the walls stopped wiggling every time he tried to sit up.

"Oh, and one more thing!" KID popped his head back in suddenly, making Shinichi jump. "I'm not much of a cook, but this restaurant I know does a pretty good chicken noodle soup. And they deliver. Should be here in about ten minutes tops."

"I'm not hungry."

"Sick people shouldn't skip meals~," the thief shot back, wagging a finger at him as though scolding a child. "Actually, no one should skip meals. And it looks to me like you've skipped a few too many as it is. Anyhow, see you in ten~." And the door shut again with a click.

Shinichi stared at the closed door for a few minutes before letting his eyes slide shut. He wondered idly why KID hadn't just sent him home or something. It certainly would have been a lot less work on the thief's part. Then again, the thief had always seemed like the kind of person who looked out for others, strange as it was. In which case he supposed it wasn't all that strange for him to decide to keep an eye on someone who had a fever. It seemed a bit risky to bring said person to one of his own hideouts, but knowing KID he'd probably already planned out sixteen different ways to remove his guest and send him home without giving him any hints as to where this apartment was. Despite the casual mannerisms the thief had been exhibiting since Shinichi had woken up, the detective hadn't failed to notice how KID always stood or sat in a manner which kept most of his face shadowed by the brim of his hat or hidden by the glare of lamplight off his monocle lens.

Well, he had more pressing problems to contemplate than the incomprehensible ways in which KID's mind worked. He was going to have to come up with a story to explain his extended absence, he mused. Or maybe he wouldn't. He'd only been back officially for a few weeks, so most people probably wouldn't think much of his being gone for a few days now. The people who might think something was off could be counted on the fingers of one hand, and of those few one lived in Osaka and wouldn't care he'd been away from home unless he (or KID) stopped answering his phone. He could tell Agasa and Haibara he'd been caught up in a case. It wouldn't entirely be a lie either. Well, that settled that.

Problem solved, he decided to try and get some more sleep and hopefully he'd be steady enough on his feet by the time he woke up to leave.

X

Kaito whistled to himself as he shut the door to the detective's room behind him. It seemed rather cold in the apartment, he noted. He made a mental note to check the heating after he'd made another run of the news channels to see if anything had been found at the museum yet. So far all that had been reported about the incident was the basics that anyone who'd been at the heist would know.

Dropping onto the couch, he flipped on the apartment's small TV and started surfing through the channels. Most of them were still playing reruns of what had been recorded at his heist as various reporters speculated about what might have happened. Half of them seemed to think the magician himself was behind it, and about half of those were of the opinion that it was a failed trick. He was kind of offended by this. How could they possibly think something he'd set up had failed? He always full-proofed and double checked his plans before displaying them to the public! No way would any magic of his backfire to the point of ruining his heist!

The other half of the reporters seemed to be supporting the theory that the museum had mishandled something in the closed exhibition lab. No one had suggested yet that it might have been caused by an intruder, but the fact that the police were still investigating it alongside of the museum's own staff implied that they smelled a rat.

"All this time and still nothing useful," he sighed, turning off the TV and going to check the heating system. It wasn't just chilly in the apartment now. For a moment he'd seen his breath fogging in front of his face. That had only lasted a few seconds and he wasn't entirely sure it hadn't been his imagination, but it was still cold. Which was odd for this time of year…

He'd only just reached the control panel for the heater when the temperature in the apartment began to rise again. As his hands touched the panel it felt normal again and the thermometer backed up the feeling. He looked it over anyway but found nothing wrong—and he was a good mechanic so he would know too.

"Huh, that's strange."

The doorbell rang, announcing the arrival of the food he'd ordered (soup for Shinichi and a sandwich for himself). Kaito turned and walked smack into what felt like a wall. Letting out a grunt of surprise, he stepped back and rubbed his nose. What the… Looking up, he stared at the open entryway between the kitchen and the living room. It was clearly empty and when he reached out to wave his hand around in the opening his fingers encountered nothing but air. But his nose certainly wasn't throbbing because he'd walked into thin air.

There was definitely something odd going on here.

Giving the air another experimental swipe, he shrugged and made for the door. There would be time to figure this out later.

X

Takagi sat on the far edge of one of the lower steps in front of the police station, watching the occasional officer coming in and out as the people of the city streamed by on the sidewalk. He'd been there for two hours and no one had so much as glanced his way. He'd tried calling out to people—shouting even, something he practically never did—but though sometimes it seemed people might have heard him they all turned away moments later like nothing had happened at all. Apparently not only could they not see him, they couldn't hear him either. Or if they could they forgot mere seconds afterward. He'd even gone so far as to shake a few officers' by the arms but he didn't seem to have much weight and while they must have felt something they'd brushed it off as either their imagination or a bug going by. They just couldn't register his presence.

It was…well, he'd never been the most outspoken or showy of people, but even he'd never felt so totally ignored. What was he supposed to do now? He couldn't well be a policeman if no one could see or hear him. Heck, how could he be _anything_ like this? He'd basically become a ghost!

He groaned and buried his face in his hands. It was extremely disturbing how he could see right through where his own hands should be, but he was trying not to think about that.

"—haven't been able to reach him all day."

He looked up at the familiar voice to see Miwako Satou and Chiba-keiji walking up the station steps. Satou was frowning in obvious annoyance but there was also a touch of worry in her voice.

"Have you tried his apartment?" the other officer asked.

"Yeah, but he wasn't there. Or if he was he didn't answer either his phone or the door."

"So he doesn't show up this morning, isn't answering any of his calls, and isn't at home… But where else could he have gone? It's not like Takagi to slack off."

"I'm right here!" the man in question called out, standing up and following his fellow officers into the station, but like with every other time he'd tried to talk to someone they paused, glanced back through him, then went on like nothing had happened.

They continued to discuss his disappearance as he trailed forlornly after them. Eventually they parted ways and Satou took a handful of case folders out of her desk. Takagi sighed as he sat down in an empty chair nearby to watch her finish writing the necessary reports, his thoughts chasing themselves around and around in his head like a dog chasing its tail.

X

"Soup's here~!" KID announced as he barged into the bedroom with a tray in hand. In a matter of seconds Shinichi found himself propped up against a pile of pillows with the tray across his knees. He stared at the grinning thief then down at the soup and back again, wondering if the magician planned on watching him eat. And he'd been on the verge of actually slipping into sleep too. It wasn't as though he felt like eating anything…

KID seemed to sense something of his thoughts as he plopped himself down in the chair by the bed again.

"You can eat on your own, or hand me the spoon. Your choice. I promise you it isn't poisoned," the thief said, amusement clear in his voice.

Shinichi flinched at the mention of poison but picked up the spoon he'd been provided without another word. No way was he going to let himself be spoon fed, _especially_ not by KID. He'd never live it down. But he still wished the thief would find something else to do and not watch.

X

She felt like she was floating. Everything felt so light…so…free… Where was she?

It felt…like her bed. Yeah, that was it. It was soft and comfortable and warm and oh so wonderfully familiar. A faint smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she breathed in deeply. The air felt a bit stale but it definitely smelled like home.

Dark eyes blinked open to look dreamily at the light streaming in through her bedroom window. It was pale and soft like everything else felt right now. She lay still and just watched it as it crept over the furniture as the sun crept across the sky. Beautiful…

She wasn't sure how long she'd been watching the sunlight when the door to her room creakead open. Glancing towards the sound, she found her mother and Heiji standing in the doorway, looking at her.

"Kazuha! You're awake!" Heiji exclaimed, relief washing across his face like the sunlight had over the wooden floorboards. "Are you feeling better?"

Better? Had she been feeling bad? She couldn't seem to recall… She smiled.

"I don't think I've ever felt better. I'm a bit hungry though."

"Well that's not surprising," her mother laughed, looking just as relieved as Heiji. "You've been asleep since you two got back last night. It's already two in the afternoon. You've missed breakfast and lunch."

"Oh, really?" Kazuha blinked in surprise. "I…guess I was a lot more tired than I thought."

"I'll go make you something to eat then," her mother announced, turning back into the hall outside. "I'll be right back."

As soon as she was gone, Heiji moved farther into the room and sat down in the chair by the desk. He was looking worried again. "Are you _sure_ you're feeling all right?"

She swung her legs over the edge of her bed and sat up. She noticed for the first time that she was wearing the clothes she'd worn yesterday rather than her pajamas. "I'm fine," she assured him. "Honestly."

He sighed, leaning back in the desk chair and folding his arms across his chest. "I guess if you're sure… You do look a lot better."

She frowned at that. "What do you mean?"

"It was just—after the heist and all last night you looked real sick and you passed out on the train."

"I did?" Kazuha asked in surprise. "I don't remember that."

"You did," he confirmed, scowl etching itself into his face. "I had to carry you all the way home."

"Oh. I—I'm sorry," she stammered, fighting back the heat she could feel rising in her face.

He shook his head then broke out into a grin. "Nah, don't apologize. I'm just glad you're feeling better."

X

Shinichi was starting to wonder if he should be more concerned about whatever it was he'd inhaled in that smoke than he had been up to this point. Aside from the dizziness, his body couldn't seem to make up its mind if it was hot or cold. One moment he'd be sweating, the next he'd be shivering and gritting his teeth to keep them from chattering. And the cycle would repeat a handful of minutes later. But maybe it was all in his head because when KID took his temperature he still had a fever. He was fairly sure people felt cold when they had fevers. He knew he usually did when he'd been sick in the past.

Still, he'd swallowed the cold medicine and pulled the blankets closer around himself, ignoring the moments when the rest of him wanted to throw off the covers and grab a cup of ice water.

KID was once again seated by the bed. Shinichi kind of wished he wouldn't—being watched these days always set his nerves on edge.

"You look tense," KID remarked. "Wanna play a game?" He opened one hand to reveal a deck of cards. Shinichi eyed the cards then shook his head.

"No thanks. I would rather go home."

"You do realize you're still sick, right?"

"It's kind of hard not to," Shinichi said dryly. "That doesn't mean I can't go home."

KID snorted, the corners of his mouth quirking up into a wry smile. "Indeed. However I must insist you stay at least until the temperature goes away."

"It's not even all that high," Shinichi argued, deciding to ignore for the moment the way he was starting to sound like he was whining.

KID just laughed. He was definitely enjoying this way too much, Shinichi thought sourly. What did he find so funny anyway? It was like the guy was always laughing at something. It must be nice to be so easily entertained.

"Don't you have anything better to do with your time?" he grumbled, scowling at the ceiling.

"Not really. What could be better than spending time with my favorite little detective?"

Shinichi's scowl deepened at the word 'little'. "Everything, I'd imagine."

"Aww, you don't really think that do you?"

"Aren't you supposed to let sick people rest?" Shinichi asked dryly.

"Hey, I just figured you'd be bored after doing nothing but lie in bed all day."

"Well I'm not, so you can go any time you want."

"Were you always this gloomy?" the thief asked teasingly. "Or is it the teenage blues setting in again?"

"Can you stop bringing that up?" he snapped, losing his patience. He glared at the magician who raised both his hands in a placating gesture.

"Whoa, touchy aren't we?"

"Has it maybe crossed your mind that I might not _want_ to have certain things shoved repeatedly at me? Making jokes out of other people's misfortune is a tasteless way to amuse yourself."

"Okay, fine, you could've just said so. Jeez, no need to bite my head off."

Shinichi sighed. He really hadn't meant to raise his voice. He knew the thief didn't mean anything by his teasing. It was just the way he was. "I'm sorry. I…didn't mean to snap." Feeling more than a bit guilty now, he turned over on his side to face the wall and closed his eyes. He didn't feel like talking and that perpetual grin on the thief's face was starting to creep him out. But he knew KID was trying to be helpful (though heaven only knew why), and he felt bad for losing his temper. It was just that KID reminded him of all the things he didn't feel like thinking about. The teasing had just made it worse. He let his breath out in a long, quiet sigh.

"I…guess it's just…I miss it sometimes…"

KID tilted his head questioningly to one side. "Miss what?"

"Being Conan," Shinichi answered after a long moment of silence. It felt weird to admit it, but also like a release.

"Can I ask you why?"

"It was…easier, I guess." And it had been…kind of fun sometimes, even if he hadn't thought about it until afterward. The persona may not have been real, but the life Conan had lived was real enough. The people he'd met, the friends he'd made… Why had he been so eager to leave it all behind? Sometimes it was hard to remember.

But why had he told KID that? He barely even let _himself_ think that before. And now he'd gone and told a total stranger who also happened to be a thief with a penchant for making fun of people. That was just stupid. Still, it had felt like a lifted weight. Maybe it was about time he'd said it—to himself if not anyone else…

Kaito watched the detective drift off into sleep with a thoughtful gleam in his indigo eyes as he played the last several minutes through his head over and over again. Something about that conversation disturbed him. It was more a feeling than anything else, but he'd learned over the years to trust his instincts. It was in the weary undertone to the detective's voice and something else he couldn't quite place his finger on. He couldn't remember ever hearing that tone in Tantei-kun's words before. The little detective had always seemed far too full of determined purpose for anything else.

Perhaps that was it. He couldn't see the same sense of purpose in the detective anymore. And it bothered him.

**TBC**

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><p><strong>A.N<strong>: Well, this chapter came along a lot faster than I expected. On, and just to make it clearer, yes this story is set after Shinichi got back to normal and assumes the BO's already been taken down. Anyhow, see you next time!


	3. A Whole New Set of Problems

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

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><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

3: A Whole New Set of Problems

Kaito glanced from the thermometer in his hand to the waiting detective and back again. Frankly Shinichi still looked ill to him, but according to the thermometer he no longer had a fever. However, that wasn't all the thermometer was saying.

"What?" Shinichi asked, watching in confusion as KID stared at the thermometer some more. Surely it couldn't take that long to read a few simple numbers.

The magician looked back at him with his own puzzled expression. "According to this, your temperature is currently five degrees lower than that of an average human being."

"It could be broken," the detective pointed out.

"No, I checked. There's nothing wrong with it, and it worked just fine when I tried it on myself a few minutes ago."

"Well, obviously then I don't have a fever anymore," Shinichi reasoned. "So according to you I can go home now."

"Well, technically, but this isn't a normal temperature either." KID held out the thermometer so that he could see for himself that the numbers were off.

"I have school tomorrow," the detective pointed out patiently. "As I believe you should too."

KID ignored the comment on his age, dismissing it with a wave. "I suppose you can't afford to miss any more of that huh."

Shinichi sank a little lower into the blankets at the casual reminder of the not so casual truth. "No, I can't."

The thief heaved an overdramatic sigh. "Well, I suppose that means we must part ways for the time being."

Later Shinichi thought he really should have expected the blast of sleeping gas to the face. It was, after all, one of KID's trademark tools, but it still caught him by surprise at the time. The next time he opened his eyes he was lying in his own bed at home.

X

Kaito had left Shinichi's house a great deal more reluctantly than he felt he should have. It was something about that big, echoing shell of a house, he decided. It just looked lonely standing there with no lights in the windows and no one to turn them on for anyway. How Shinichi could stand to live in it all by himself all the time he had no idea. Then again, Shinichi was probably used to it by now. If he remembered correctly the Kudo parents had been living in America for a while.

Why hadn't his parents come back when their son had been turned back into an elementary school student? It seemed a rather odd thing to do for any parent, even ones as eccentric as he'd heard the Kudos were. Or maybe they had and he just didn't know, but obviously they hadn't stayed. Of course, Shinichi probably wouldn't have wanted his parents in Japan. It would have made connecting Conan to Shinichi a lot easier, and the detective would surely have wanted his parents not to get involved. But if Shinichi was back, then whatever he'd been dealing with was probably over, so why hadn't they come to visit? Wouldn't they want to check up on their son and see how he was doing?

Well, it was always possible they were thinking about it and just hadn't come yet.

Turning away from the hulking shadow that was the Kudo Manor, Kaito started for his own home. It was strange, he reflected, the similarities and differences between the paths they'd walked. It had always been a source of private amusement for him. Here they were, a thief and a detective, both masters of what they did, both with an alternate identity they had to hide, both with more secrets than any person should have to have, both of them were seeking justice even if it was in different ways, both of them had worked with the shades of gray between right and wrong—heck, they even looked similar. And yet while he would give just about anything to have his father back, Shinichi had both his parents but practically never saw them. Kaito had to do all his real work from the shadows, but Shinichi had the option of working in the open. Where one of them sought vengeance (loathe as he was to admit it), the other simply sought truth. Shinichi seemed to have an unusual amount of misfortune in everything but surviving while Kaito had always been one of Lady Luck's favorites (discounting having lost his father). The list went on.

Funny how the world worked sometimes.

He had to remember to give his mom a big hug when he got home. There was nothing like a look into other people's problems to remind yourself it was important to stop now and then and appreciate what you had.

X

Toyama Kazuha sat by her open window as the pale, early morning light streamed in along with the gentle breath of the wind. She couldn't seem to get enough of the feeling of the breeze against the skin of her face and streaming through her hair. Had it always felt this good? Or was today special somehow? It smelled so sweet as it curled around her.

On an impulse she raised a hand towards the sky, twirling her fingers as though tracing a circle. The gentle breeze twirled around her hand, tickling lightly against her palm, and she laughed.

It was just so—so wonderful.

"Kazuha!" her mother's voice came drifting from another part of the house. "It's time for breakfast!"

"I'm coming!" she called back. Standing up, she gripped the edges of the windows. Leaning over the windowsill, she breathed in deep, filling her lungs with the wonderful scent of all the crisp, morning air, before pulling back and shutting the window. It felt suddenly a lot darker in the room. Too still. Like something that had been alive had suddenly disappeared.

Frowning slightly, she shook away the unsettling sensation and headed for the kitchen.

X

Shinichi had only just sat down in one of the armchairs in his library with a cup of coffee for some early morning reading when his phone went off. Groaning, he debated for a moment and ended up relinquishing the book in order to answer it.

"Kudo!" Hattori's frantic voice blasted over the phone, forcing Shinichi to jerk the little machine away from his ear lest he go deaf. "I—I don't know what happened!"

Shinichi blinked. "What are you talking about?"

"It just—it was like—and then it just all went up in flames!"

Hattori obviously wasn't listening. Frowning, Shinichi counted silently to ten, waiting for the Osakan on the other end of the line to calm down. Hattori continued to babble for a good few more minutes but all Shinichi got out of it was the many repetitions of the word 'fire' and all its synonyms. Had the Osakan run into some kind of arson case? But that wouldn't explain the panic or why he was calling Shinichi all the way in Beika to rant about it.

When Hattori paused to regain his breath, Shinichi cut in. "Could you say that again from the beginning but with spaces in between so I can actually understand what you're saying?"

He could hear a deep breath being taken on the other end of the line. "There was a fire."

"I gathered that much."

"Yeah, but it—it didn't…start from anywhere."

Shinichi frowned slightly, not understanding the strange statement. "What do you mean?"

"It just—started."

Shinichi paused. Was Hattori sick or something? "…Fires do that…?"

"No! I mean—no one started it or anything it just—kind of _happened_."

"I assume from your apparent confusion that that means you couldn't find any clues as to how it started."

"Well, yeah, but…" There was a frustrated sigh on the other end of the call and Shinichi could practically hear him trying to recollect his thoughts. "Okay, see, there was a homicide case at this noodle shack that just opened. I thought I'd give the place a try and get breakfast on my way to pick up Kazuha for school."

Shinichi nodded before he remembered that Hattori couldn't see him. "Go on."

"And so I found the guy who'd done it—pretty careless guy really—but the police weren't there yet and he seems like he's given up and all but then he makes a break out the back window. I went after him and we wound up going through one of the local parks. So we're there and I've almost caught up with him when he looks back and sees me running after him. The dirt bag must've panicked so he makes a dive and grabs one of the kids."

Shinichi's eyes narrowed slightly—he'd always hated that kind of criminal the most, the ones who felt no compunction over sacrificing others, especially those who had nothing to do with anything—but he kept quiet.

"So, well, I was pretty mad at the guy by that point. I—called the guy a few names and…"

Hattori stopped abruptly and Shinichi waited for a full minute before clearing his throat. "So what was it about fire?"

"That's the thing. I was yelling at the guy, trying to think of a way to get at him without hurting the kid, but then he—he's screaming because his clothes are on fire. He let go of the kid who ran and starts rolling on the ground. By the time he put all the flames out the police were there. They cuffed him and took him off."

"And you're worried because you don't know how the fire started."

"Yeah, that's it," Hattori agreed, sounding relieved that he'd finally gotten his point across. Shinichi wasn't entirely sure he believed him though. It felt like the other detective was keeping something out of the story. Hattori was talking again before he could press the issue though. "I searched the ground all around the area and there was nothing but grass and the ground was hard. Nothing had been placed on it or buried under it. The police also checked the culprit but he wasn't carrying anything that could've started a fire. When they questioned him, he was just as confused as the rest of us—scared too. And it was definitely real. No acting, I'm sure."

"Could it have been someone else in the park?" Shinichi suggested. "Maybe someone else in the park approached the guy from behind while he was focused on you."

"I thought about that…but we asked around and no one said they saw anyone even remotely near us. It's possible they just didn't see, but…"

"What are you not telling me Hattori?" Shinichi asked, starting to grow impatient with the continuous stalling and beating around the bush. The Osakan was usually very direct. What had gotten into him today?

There was a long moment of silence on the Osakan end of the line until finally Hattori's voice came through sounding nervous and slightly scared. "I—I thought I saw…"

"Yes?"

"It came out of my hand Kudo!" Hattori burst out finally, the words tumbling over each other in their rush to be said. "I was waving my hand at the guy while I talked to him and I swear I saw fire come right out of the air and set his coat on fire!"

Shinichi paused for a moment. Hattori wouldn't have said something so ridiculous if he didn't have a reason to, but still… "Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure! I wouldn't make something like this up Kudo! The fire just came right outta the air!"

"Okay—okay, I believe you. But there has to be an explanation."

"If you've got any ideas, I'm listening."

Shinichi bit his lower lip as he turned the information he'd just been given over in his head. Not having seen what Hattori had, he found it hard to frame the images in his mind. They just sounded way too much like something out of a movie with all of a movie's special effects. But Hattori at least was convinced that it had been real. Glancing idly around his library as he thought, his eyes landed on the clock.

"Uh, can we talk about this later? I have to leave now or I'm going to be late for school." He didn't have to add that he couldn't miss any more school.

Hattori let out a long sigh but agreed. "Fine. I'll call you later. I've gotta get going too anyway. Need to give the police my report and call Kazuha about missing school today."

X

Teitan High welcomed its students that morning as it had every other school day of every other year since it had been founded. Its students didn't really appreciate this, or think one way or the other about it in fact, but they went to their homerooms as they had on all those other days to begin another normal day of classes. Or so they thought.

Shinichi had settled down at his desk and opened a novel he'd brought to read before class began. All around him he could hear his classmates chatting away about all the usual things: grades, TV shows, music, friends, enemies, etc. Somewhere behind him, he heard Sonoko's piercing tones ring out above the rest.

"Our physical examinations are today, right?"

"Yeah," Ran's voice agreed. "I'm pretty sure the teacher said it was this afternoon."

"Oh it's always so annoying," the other girl complained with an irritable sigh. "Why do they need to do these anyway? It's not like knowing how much we weigh and all that other stuff does them any good or anything."

"They just want to make sure everyone's healthy," the brunette replied with a laugh.

"The only good thing about it is it gets us out of class a bit."

Shinichi didn't see the bright side of _that_ all considered. Classes might be mostly pretty dull, but too much more of getting out of them and they might not let him graduate. And even dull classes were more interesting than getting weighed and measured.

It was almost surreal how school always went on as usual no matter what strange things had happened.

Back in her seat, Sonoko shifted restlessly in her chair. Honestly, she'd been feeling antsy all day and she had no idea why. She never cared much about school one way or another but today everything just seemed particularly irksome. She'd thought at first that it was just her usual disappointment at not having been able to meet KID-sama again despite her efforts to make herself stand out and get up front during the heist where she'd be easy to spot. Now though she was starting to think it was just one of those days where nothing felt right.

Her breath left her in an annoyed hiss as she brushed her hair behind her ears and fidgeted. She rubbed her fingers together than tugged at her uniform to straighten it out despite it already being in perfect order.

Restless as she was, she was actually kind of glad when it was her turn to go in for the physical examination despite the way she'd complained about it to Ran.

Everything was routine and she went through the motions as dictated by the woman with the clipboard.

"All right, now just take off your shoes and step on the scale."

Biting back a sigh, she slipped out of her indoor shoes and stepped onto the slightly chilly scale. Man this was so dull. She always kept an eye on her weight after all. She knew she was in the right weight bracket for her height.

Beside her, the physician's pen stop scribbling as the woman stared, mouth slightly agape.

Confused, Sonoko looked down at the numbers on the scale—and fainted dead away.

X

She let out a groan as she opened her eyes. What the…where was she? She didn't recognize this room, and this was definitely not her bed. It was way too uncomfortable and nowhere near as big as it should be.

"Sonoko!" someone exclaimed and she turned to find Ran leaning over her, looking somewhere between worried and relieved.

She blinked. "Ran? What's going on? Where is this?"

"You're in the school infirmary," Ran replied, lifting a hand to check the other girl's temperature. "You fainted during your examination. What happened in there?"

"I…fainted?"

Ran nodded.

Putting a finger to her lip, Sonoko thought back to what she could remember. She'd gone through the exam, everything going like it always did at those, and then—and then—

"It was that scale!" she exclaimed, paling abruptly. "It—it said I weighed like four hundred and ninety two kilograms!"

"That's impossible. It must have been a mistake," Ran replied. "Besides, I helped them carry you here and I'm pretty sure you didn't weigh that much. And you don't look any different. It wouldn't make sense for you to suddenly weigh so much more even if it was possible to weigh that much—which it isn't."

"I know! But it was just—really horrible you know? Like a really bad nightmare."

Ran laughed at that, glad to see the color returning to her friend's face. "Come on, if you're feeling better, they have to retake your weight."

Sonoko grimaced. "Oh joy. I don't suppose you'd come with me this time?"

"Sure."

X

Shinichi waited impatiently as the physician frowned at him. He should have been out of here five minutes ago but the guy just kept frowning and mumbling to himself and retaking his temperature. Finally he couldn't stand it anymore.

"Is something wrong?"

The man blinked as though just remembering that Shinichi was in fact a person who could speak. "Ah, no, everything's fine—or almost. You see, your temperature seems a little bit low."

Again? "What does that mean though?"

"I don't know," the physician admitted. "I've never seen a case like this before. You appear to be in good health, though I would recommend you eat more. You said you were ill this weekend?"

"I had a fever, but I'm feeling fine now."

"I see… Well, I suppose there's no reason to keep you any longer. I'm sorry for taking up so much of your time. Just remember to tell someone if you start feeling ill again."

Shinichi nodded and bid the man farewell before heading back to class with a sigh of relief. He'd been on the verge of falling asleep in there! He took a detour to the bathroom to splash some cold water on his face in order to help himself clear his mind. He was just moving to head back out when his foot slipped on the tiled floor and shot out from under him.

He let out a cry of surprise as he reached out and grabbed the edge of a sink, saving himself a painful crack to the head. Regaining his footing, he glanced down. The tiles hadn't been wet when he'd come in, so why had they suddenly become so slippery?

His answer came in the form of a thin sheet of ice that had covered the entire bathroom floor. He stared at it. Even as he watched it finished melting and then just dried up like it had never been there. Was he seeing things?

But he had definitely slipped. His heart rate was still racing from the shock.

So if it hadn't been his imagination, then where had that ice come from? And where had it gone? Even if it had melted the floor should still be wet. Unless it had just looked like ice. But if it looked like ice, melted like ice, and was slippery and cold like ice, then what else could it be? And how had it gotten there without him noticing when he was the only person in the bathroom?

X

Kaito had only just finished feeding his doves breakfast when his mother called up the stairs that Aoko had arrived and it was time for them to go to school.

"Remember, it's up to you lot to hold down the fort while I'm away," he announced to the flock who cooed a farewell that followed him out of their room and down the stairs. Face splitting into its customary grin, he grabbed his backpack and bounded out the front door with a cheery goodbye to his mother. Nakamori Aoko stood waiting for him on the sidewalk outside his house.

"Where were you all weekend?" she demanded the moment she saw him. "I _know_ you weren't at home. Your mom said you said you were staying at a friend's."

"That's right," he agreed before raising an eyebrow. "You sound like you don't believe me."

"It's not that I don't believe you," she replied, flushing faintly with embarrassment (probably because she hadn't). "It's just…you usually tell me when you're going to be away. I thought maybe you'd gotten in trouble."

"Me? In trouble? Whatever gave you that idea?"

She shot him a glare then turned on her heels and started walking. "Hurry up or we're going to be late."

Laughing, he caught up to her, speeding up then turning around so that he was walking in front of her, going backwards himself so that he could see her face. "Were you worried about me?"

She stared back flatly for a second then sighed. "Yes, I was. Some weird things happened at that last KID heist and I remember you saying you might go watch this time… Apparently some people who were there ended up really sick."

"Oh, I saw that on the news," he replied, dropping the grin in favor of a more serious expression befitting the topic. "Sounded pretty strange. But no, I didn't end up going. I ran into an old friend of mine and ended up spending the weekend over instead. Sorry you were worried. You went though, right? So are you feeling all right?"

She paused a moment before nodding, finally breaking out into a smile. "I'm fine. I did a lot of coughing when the smoke started going everywhere but that stopped once Saguru and I got out of it."

"So you _did_ go with him. You know Aoko, it could be an omen," he said solemnly, moving to walk beside her and dropping his voice into a conspiratorial whisper. "It could be Fate telling you that dating certain detectives can only lead to disaster."

She flushed and shoved her elbow hard into his side. "Kaito! That's not fair and you know it! If anything it was probably that damned thief's fault!"

"Ah, so it _was_ a date then."

"I—I didn't say that," she stammered, her face turning even redder.

"But you didn't deny it~."

"Don't you have anything better to do with your time?" she demanded instead of answering, her hands tightening on the strap of her book bag in a manner that suggested she was thinking about taking a swing at him.

He blinked then chuckled. "You know, someone else asked me the exact same thing a few days ago."

"That simply goes to prove that you need to find new ways to occupy yourself," a dry voice remarked from behind them.

"Saguru!" Aoko turned and greeted the blonde with a smile while Kaito just rolled his eyes.

"Aoko," the blonde returned with a faint smile of his own. "I trust you are well this morning?"

The two fell into idle conversation as Kaito made gagging motions behind them. Really, they were getting more and more unbearable by the day. And he'd thought Hakuba couldn't get any more annoying than he'd already been. Boy had he been wrong. But what he really couldn't understand was when Aoko had lost her good senses.

She actually _admired_ the blonde for his dedication to the same work her father did and the two of them had started spending unwholesome amounts of time together discussing all of Kaitou KID's shortcomings (which, in Kaito's opinion, were all misguided). Still, despite the fact that she hadn't bought into Hakuba's theory that Kaito was KID and continued to defend him when the blonde started pointing fingers, the fact that she was obviously beginning to _really_ like the blonde irked Kaito. His oldest friend was consorting with the world's most annoying detective and all because they both thought his alternate identity belonged behind bars. Anyone in his position would be irritated. Honestly, some people had no taste.

What did she see in that prat anyway? He just didn't get it. Sure he was an okay detective—of the stuck in his ways, nose in the air variety—but he had no imagination and was boring as hell. Not to mention weirdly obsessed with a fictional character to the point of cosplay in daily life (seriously, admiration was all well and good, and dressing up for _special_ occasions was understandable, but there was such a thing as going too far).

He couldn't help but feel like Aoko was making a horrible mistake every time he saw them together acting so friendly. It didn't help that she'd reached the point where she got annoyed when he said anything uncomplimentary about the blonde or used the detective in one of his pranks.

Okay, so he knew he might be being slightly unreasonable (very slightly), but this was _his_ friend they were talking about here. He was just looking out for her like a good friend should. Pity she didn't seem to appreciate it.

X

The teacher had yet to arrive when Kaito, Aoko, and Hakuba reached their classroom. This, however, was fairly normal for their class. Most of Kaito's teachers had a tendency to show up to class only at the last possible moment. It meant less time at the Ekoda prankster's mercy.

Of course, that didn't help the magician's classmates much.

Three changes of outfits (the class now sported two student-sized stuffed squirrels and one student-sized stuffed frog—or maybe that should be two student-stuffed squirrels and one student-stuffed frog), seven changes in hair color, and a flock of singing, flying paperclips later Kaito was feeling nicely warmed up for the day ahead and everyone else was wishing the teacher would hurry up and arrive already. The presence of a teacher didn't deter their resident magician much, but he did tend to tone things down a bit when class was actually in session—or just focus more attention on the teachers themselves (which half the class secretly enjoyed, not that they ever let the teachers know that).

"So were you able to find out what caused the weird smoke and exploding lights at the museum yet?"

Kaito's ears perked up at the sound of Aoko's inquiry. Now there was a topic he wouldn't mind eavesdropping on.

"Unfortunately we have yet to find anything definite. However I feel the chances are still highest that it was the result of one of KID's tricks. Though what he meant it to be or hoped to achieve with it I have no idea."

Kaito snorted silently, nothing useful there. Then again he probably should have expected as much. He glanced towards the blonde and Aoko just as they were coming down the aisle towards their desks. No one knew exactly what happened next. All they did know was what they saw.

It was like watching some kind of comedy routine. One moment Hakuba was walking forward, the next he reeled back like he'd run into something solid and landed hard on his butt where he sat with his mouth slightly open and his eyes wide in obvious confusion. If he hadn't been the actor he was, Kaito would have keeled over laughing right there. Man he wished he'd brought a camera with him to school today. That expression was absolutely priceless!

Aoko stood frozen for a moment in surprise before hurrying to offer him a hand up. "Are you all right? What happened?"

"I'm fine," Hakuba assured her, but he couldn't seem to stop staring at the air over his head. "I—think I ran into something."

Aoko blinked then followed his gaze up to the empty air then down to the floor. There was nothing there. "What do you mean? I don't see anything."

Kaito stepped up to them and waved a hand through the unoccupied air. "Nope, nothing here. My, my, Hakuba, I had no idea you were such a good mime."

"Was this another one of your tricks?" Aoko demanded, straightening abruptly and planting her hands on her hips. "Because if it was it wasn't funny! You can hurt people with tricks like that!"

"Aoko!" he gasped, taking a step back and widening his eyes in affected horror. "Of course it wasn't me. Why would you even ask me that?"

She softened slightly. "But then what happened?"

He shrugged. "Dunno. Though I have to say, it was pretty funny."

Her scowl returned full force. Oops. Had he said that out loud? Well, he knew one surefire way to distract her.

Aoko stiffened when she felt a breeze where no breeze should be.

"Wow Aoko, that's a nice shade of lavender."

"BAKAITO!" she shrieked, whirling around and swinging the mop she stashed in the classroom just for such occasions at him as her face flushed deep crimson only to stop mid swing as every window in the classroom shattered. Students screamed and ducked. Those nearest the splintering glass scrambled to get away. A few of the faster thinkers ducked underneath their desks. Aoko's cry was followed by dead silence.

It was broken by a loud thud and the head of every student in the room swiveled to see that their teacher had finally arrived. Said teacher had dropped her book bag upon seeing the state of her classroom and her mouth was hanging open as her eyes practically bugged out of her head at all the broken glass and the students covered in cuts and scratches.

"What in the world is going on here?"

**TBC**

* * *

><p><strong>A.N<strong>: Whoa this story's being unexpectedly easy to write so far. See you next time!


	4. Puzzles and Pieces

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

* * *

><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

4: Puzzles and Pieces

The rest of the day had gone by in a blur for Shinichi. All he could think about was the disappearing ice. The rest of him operated on autopilot, taking him through his remaining classes and walking him out of the school gates once the last bell rang.

He was barely ten steps out the gate when his phone went off and he was greeted by Hattori's disturbed tones again. It took less than five minutes for them to come to the conclusion that neither of them had any answers yet. Hattori grumbled a lot before hanging up, saying he had a meeting with Kazuha to get to.

"She's been acting kinda weird," he added just before he hung up. "All airy and happy like she doesn't have a care in the world. I better get going before she decides I'm not coming and wanders off again."

"Wanders off?" Shinichi repeated in confusion. That didn't sound like Kazuha at all. But by then Hattori had already cut the line. Letting out an annoyed breath, Shinichi tucked his own cell in his pocket and continued home.

Walking up to his own front door, he turned the key in the lock and opened it—to find Hattori on the other side. He knew instantly that it couldn't be Hattori though. He'd only just talked to Hattori on the phone after all and he knew for a fact that the other detective was still in Osaka. But really it was giveaway enough that the intruder was on the wrong side of the Kudo Manor door. Shinichi knew his line of work could make him a lot of enemies, so the locks he'd installed on his doors were anything but ordinary.

"What are you doing here KID?" he asked a bit warily as he stepped inside and pulled the door shut behind himself. He left it unlocked just in case he had to leave in a hurry.

"I came to see how you were holding up of course," the thief replied, sounding for all the world like it was perfectly normal—indeed, should be expected—that a wanted criminal would visit a sick detective to see how he was doing. With a snap of his fingers and a blinding flash of light, it was no longer Hattori standing in his hall but the Kaitou KID in full regalia. "So how're you feeling?"

"Fine," Shinichi said, the answer popping out on reflex. He eyed the thief curiously, but as usual it was impossible to read him. "You can't have come here just to ask me that. Why else are you here?"

"Do you want something to drink? I made coffee," KID offered, making a mug appear with a snap of his fingers.

That gave Shinichi a moment's pause. "This is my house."

KID just grinned. "Is that a yes or a no?"

Shinichi stared at him for a few moments longer then sighed and took the proffered cup—one of his own, naturally. He wasn't sure how comfortable he was with the idea of KID nosing around his house while he wasn't in it—or even while he _was_ in it for that matter—but it was too late for that. The thief was already here and obviously not intending to go anywhere any time soon if the second mug that had appeared in his other hand was any indication. He briefly entertained the idea of calling the police, but he dismissed the thought immediately. It would be fairly pointless as KID would be long gone eons before they arrived, and, well, the thief wouldn't be here for no reason. He might like to annoy people, but Shinichi highly doubted he'd follow a detective home just for that (well, maybe if he really was _that_ bored but it didn't seem likely). So instead he turned and headed into the living room where he seated himself in an armchair and waited, watching his visitor expectantly.

KID had taken another armchair and was sipping whatever was in his cup as he took his time. What he was considering Shinichi had no idea. For all he knew the thief was just taking a moment to enjoy his drink, but he had a feeling there was something more. When KID finally spoke, it was with a great deal more seriousness than Shinichi was used to hearing from him.

"Some peculiar things have been happening lately. I was wondering if you had noticed anything strange."

Shinichi frowned, the image of a bathroom floor flashing through his mind. "Strange how exactly?"

KID said nothing for several seconds before he raised his mug and held it out as though offering it to Shinichi. The detective looked at it questioningly—just as the magician's fingers let go. He let out an involuntary cry of warning but rather than falling to the floor and breaking to spill its contents all over the floorboards the mug instead remained sitting in mid air. Bright, blue eyes stared at the mug, then at the magician who had lost his smile, and back again.

"You can examine it," KID stated, indigo gaze steady.

Shinichi set his own mug on the table and stood, walking over to circle KID's floating one. There was nothing in the air around, above, or below it. When he reached out to examine the base however he found—something solid. It was a small, hard, flat disk right beneath the mug's base. It had no real texture and was exactly the same as the temperature of the air, but it was undeniably something. It made no sound when he tapped on it and tugging on it resulted in no movement whatsoever. He glanced at KID before he picked up the mug and swung his hand through the space where it had been. His hand stopped when it encountered the invisible obstacle but no amount of feeling around it revealed any kind of support. It was simply a piece of solidity hovering steadily above the ground. More than a bit perturbed, Shinichi set the mug back down on the piece of empty air and returned to his chair.

KID retrieved his mug and demonstratively waved a hand through the same space Shinichi had just examined. His hand however passed easily through the space without meeting any resistance.

Shinichi bit his lower lip as he stared hard at the space, trying but failing to see anything. "Did…did you do that?"

"They seem to come and go sometimes," the thief replied. "I only noticed the first one because I walked right into it. But I've found I can call them up when I want to. Pick a shape, size, location, you name it."

"But…what are they?" Shinichi wondered. "It didn't feel like anything at all. It was just—"

"There? That seems to be how they all are. I'd probably call them force fields if I had to put a name to them." KID paused, studying Shinichi's face closely. "It seems you have seen something then, haven't you?"

Shinichi stared into his coffee for a long moment before letting out a long breath. Slowly, carefully, he described what had happened in the Teitan High boys' bathroom earlier that day. He couldn't help but feel a bit foolish, and really he wouldn't be surprised if KID started laughing at him, but he _knew_ what he'd seen. Besides, after what he'd just witnessed, the disappearing ice didn't seem quite as weird anymore.

X

Heiji frowned as he scanned the street outside the shrine where he was supposed to meet Kazuha for the fifth time. There was still no sign of the girl in question however and they were supposed to have met fifteen minutes ago. Kazuha wasn't the kind of person who tended to arrive late to meetings. If anything she was usually early.

Tapping his foot, he checked his watch. Sixteen minutes late. Where was she? He'd talked to the owners of all the shops in the street but none of them had seen a girl matching Kazuha's description going by. If she'd been there and left again because she thought he wasn't going to show, he'd understand, but for her not to have showed up at all… Could something have happened to her?

Making up his mind, he turned and started walking. Brisk steps carried him along the route that Kazuha should have taken to get from their school to their meeting spot. At every street corner he stopped and looked along the adjacent streets in case she'd gotten side tracked on her way. He didn't see any sign of her and he was just starting to really worry when he looked up and spotted his high school—and the girl sitting on the edge of the roof. She was sitting with her legs dangling over the side and her face turned into the wind so that it caught her hair and pulled it out behind her in black streamers. Her eyes were closed and it seemed to Heiji like she was either deep in thought or really enjoying the feel of that wind.

Whatever she was doing he didn't like seeing her sitting somewhere so dangerous.

Speeding up, he entered the school building and ran up the stairs to the roof. Barging through the unlocked door, he called out. "Kazuha!"

She turned at the sound of her name and blinked at him in surprise before she checked her watch and gasped. "Oh, Heiji! I'm so sorry, I totally lost track of time."

He sighed and walked across to stand beside her seat where he'd be able to grab her if she showed any signs of falling. "That's all right I guess, but call me next time would you? I was really getting worried there! What are you doing here anyway?"

She smiled and raised a hand to gesture at the sky. "I was just enjoying the view. Have you ever noticed how vast the sky is?"

He blinked and followed her gaze skyward. "Uh, not really, but now that you mention it…I guess it is…? What's this about Kazuha? Why'd you even come up here in the first place?"

A faint shadow passed over Kazuha's face. "It was just so stuffy in the classrooms that I just had to come up after class."

"You've been saying that a lot lately you know."

She glanced up at him curiously. "Saying what?"

"That it's stuffy. You just said the classrooms were stuffy. Your mom told me you keep complaining that your room is stuffy, the kitchen is stuffy, the whole house is stuffy—is something bothering you?"

Her gaze grew thoughtful as she turned back to the sky again. "I don't think so. I just…I don't know, don't feel like being indoors lately I guess."

"Well, if you're sure…"

She laughed, pulling her feet up and hopping back onto the roof. "Come on Heiji, let's talk about something else. It's a beautiful day! Do you want to get something to eat?"

X

Shinichi stared dubiously at the glass of water sitting on the kitchen table in front of him. "This is ridiculous."

On the other side of the table, KID smirked, obviously amused. "You're saying that now after everything else you've seen today?"

"Yeah but…"

"Just try, Detective, it won't kill you."

"Try _what_ exactly? Assuming that ice had anything to do with me at all, I still have no idea how it happened."

"Think cold thoughts?" KID suggested.

"And what kind of thoughts would those be exactly?" Shinichi asked dryly.

"You know, use your imagination. I'm sure you've been cold before. Just remember that and pretend it's cold now."

Shinichi still didn't think this was the right path to explore (frankly he didn't want to), but KID wasn't letting the idea go. And, well, they had to test the possibilities, improbable as they were. So he reached out and stuck a finger in the room temperature water and tried to imagine that it was cold. It was a lot harder than it sounded especially since he knew the water _wasn__'__t_ cold. And yet…and yet it almost seemed like it was.

Opening his eyes, he stared in shock at the glass. It had fogged over slightly and the water… The water was now a solid block of ice with a finger shaped indent in it.

"Well," KID remarked, reaching out to touch the side of the glass. "I'd say that proves something."

Shinichi couldn't find the right words for the feeling that had welled up inside his chest at the sight of that ice. He couldn't quite believe it was there, but he knew it was. What he didn't understand was how. And while a very small part of him was a bit in awe of all this, it bothered him too. If this was possible, what _else_ could be too?

"Doesn't last long though, does it?"

"Huh?" Coming back to the present, Shinichi realized that the water was no longer frozen and the glass no longer fogged. When he touched it, it was once again at room temperature. "It couldn't have melted that fast."

KID dipped a gloved finger in the water. "Maybe it didn't so much melt as just stop being frozen."

"I can't believe I understood what you just said…"

The thief laughed. "You can look a little happier. How many people out there can make their own ice water?"

"It doesn't last remember?" Shinichi pointed out.

"I'm sure you could make it cold without freezing it and keep it that way long enough for a drink if you practice."

The detective just shook his head. "I think I have better things to do with my time. Like figuring out how this is happening." He ran the last few days through his mind. "Do you think it has anything to do with that smoke?"

"It was my first guess, certainly. I saw several windows shatter not long ago for no apparent reason simply because a girl was shouting."

"You can't break glass with sound unless you hold the right frequency for the right length of time."

KID shrugged. "Perhaps not normally, but it was either the shouting or just because the glass felt like breaking. Take your pick."

Shinichi chewed lightly on his lower lip, staring hard at the table as he thought. "I guess there's also that fire Hattori was talking about. He told me this morning that he saw fire coming out of nowhere."

"And he was at my heist." It wasn't a question.

"What about that girl you mentioned?"

"She was there."

"So that smoke might have—done something to the people who attended your heist." Uh oh. That had been one of the best attended heists in KID's heist history. And that was saying something. On the other hand, a lot of that crowd hadn't actually been able to squeeze into the museum courtyard so they may or may not have had any actual contact with the blue smoke. But that was still a lot of people.

"We're going out," KID announced, bounding to his feet and snapping his fingers. There was a puff of smoke and the magician was now dressed in casual clothes with a hat pulled low over a pair of dark sunglasses.

Shinichi blinked, momentarily distracted from his thoughts. "Can I ask why?"

"To see what other kinds of weird things might be happening to people. If it's just a few of us or if everyone that was at my heist was affected. You better hurry or we'll run out of daylight."

X

Takagi sat in front of his desk at home, staring at its mostly bare surface as he thought. He'd been at home for a while now. There wasn't much point going anywhere like this after all. But he couldn't sit at home for the rest of his life. He had to figure out something to do.

He'd discovered he had just as little power to affect most objects as he had when it came to people. He might be able to shift them slightly, or help along something that was already moving, but that was about it. He'd actually managed to jump up and down on one of the office's rolling chairs without it sliding out from under him. That had been…interesting, to say the least. It was incredibly fortunate that apparently he didn't need to eat when he was like this either.

He could however pick up small, light objects. They vanished the moment they were firmly in his grasp. That gave him an idea.

Shifting one of the pieces of blank paper stacked on the corner of his desk where he'd forgotten to put them away before all this happened, he laid it in front of him and grabbed a pen. The pen disappeared once it was in his hand but he could still feel its smooth plastic shape. Clicking it so that the point came out, he drew it across the paper. A blue line appeared in the pen's wake and he could feel a relieved smile creeping onto his face just as the line slowly faded away like it had never been.

His heart sank. There went that idea. He couldn't exactly write anyone a message if the message disappeared mere seconds after being written.

Although… Maybe he could do something with this after all.

X

If it hadn't been before, Shinichi thought, then it was definitely official now. This was the weirdest day of his life. First Hattori's strange story, then the disappearing ice, finding KID in his house of all places, the invisible mug-supporting piece of nothing, freezing the water, and now, to top things off, he was going for a casual walk through the streets with Kaitou KID.

"Relax," the thief in question advised, laughing lightly. "People are going to start wondering what we're up to if you don't."

Shinichi might have pointed out that logically speaking KID shouldn't be as relaxed as he seemed all considered but the sight of a girl about his age who was reading while she walked stopped him. She wasn't looking where she was going and was about to walk right into a metal pole. He opened his mouth to call out a warning but the words died on his lips as the girl took two steps up the side of said pole—literally just walked up it like it was flat ground. She chose that moment to look up from her reading. He could see the confusion in her face as she looked at the sky ahead of her for a moment before she glanced around. Her jaw fell open just as the rest of her dropped back to the sidewalk with a rather painful looking thump.

"Did you see that too?" Shinichi had to asked, still unable to look away from the girl who was picking herself up and straightening out her clothes.

"Yep," came KID's unhesitant reply.

The girl in question glanced around anxiously. She caught the two boys watching, tensed, and hurried away like a frightened animal. No one else seemed to have seen the odd incident.

Shinichi watched her run with some concern. "Maybe we should head to the park. A lot of people take walks there in the afternoon."

"That's the spirit," KID said encouragingly, slinging an arm over Shinichi's shoulders. "We can head to the shopping district after that. Maybe check out some more popular eating places, swing by the arcade…"

He gave the thief a flat look. "That sounds more like you having a fun day out."

"Well~, this _is_ our first date, we have to have some fun right? Or you might never want to see me again!"

Shinichi blushed and ducked out from under the thief's arm. "Focus or go away," he snapped. "If all you want to do is play games then you can go play them somewhere else!"

"Okay, fine." KID held up his hands in a placating gesture (though he still looked far too amused). "It was just a joke. No need to bite my head off. Jeez, someone's moody today. If you were a girl, you'd definitely—"

"_Don__'__t_ finish that sentence." Turning sharply on his heels, he started towards the park without a backward glance. Why was he here again? Oh yeah, because he wanted to know how extensive the weird effects of that smoke from the heist might have been. Well, he could do that by himself.

"Hey! Wait!" KID lengthened his stride and caught up to the detective. "Come on, don't be like that. How 'bout I get us both a drink and we forget about this and go look around the park to see if anything weird's happening there? Look, they're selling juice cartons over there."

Shinichi followed the direction of KID's wave automatically to see that a particularly enthusiastic salesman had decided to set up shop right outside the Beika Park entrance. He'd set up a table upon which different types of juice cartons had been stacked in orderly pyramids. A young man was just purchasing a box of orange juice. He paid the vendor and stepped off to the side where he popped in the straw and downed his drink in a matter of seconds. Once the sides of the juice box began to implode, he pulled the straw out of his mouth—and took a neat bite right out of the carton which he chewed and swallowed with every sign of enjoyment before his eyes turned round as coins and he stared at the half eaten cardboard box in his own hands like someone who'd just seen a ghost.

"Something tells me he didn't mean to do that," KID murmured near Shinichi's ear, making the detective start violently in surprise.

He edged away from the magician but nodded. "How old do you think that man is?"

KID blinked behind his sunglasses then took another look at the shell-shocked carton-eater. "I'd say twenty, maybe twenty one. Why?"

Frowning slightly in thought, Shinichi headed into the park. "Just a thought. Are you coming or not?"

**TBC**

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><p><strong>A.N<strong>: ^_^ I was wondering if anyone would bring it up. Yes, this was actually inspired by the Static Shock series, though the plot's not based on it. It's one of my favorites and I semi-recently re-watched the whole thing and felt like writing something with people with powers. Anyhow, see you next time! On, and on a side note, Takagi's not dead ^^.


	5. Over the World

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

* * *

><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

5: Over the World

They had made a circuit of the park before making their way towards one of the city's busier shopping districts. Shinichi watched the crowds and mentally tallied up all the little oddities he saw as KID came and went, presumably doing his own search and picking up the occasional treat along the way. By the time the sun began to set Shinichi had seen the thief eat two ice creams, a chocolate bar, and a small sandwich. Even so, the thief still insisted that they get dinner at one of the more popular noodle shops. Shinichi was somewhat more inclined to ordering home, but, as KID had pointed out, they might see more if they stayed and over dinner was as good a time as any to discuss what they had found.

"Besides, you have to eat eventually," the thief added. "You're not trying to get away from me are you?"

"It's just too crowded in here," Shinichi replied, unconsciously shifting so that his back was to the wall and he could keep an eye on the people in line behind them. KID took note of the gesture but didn't comment.

"It'll be better once we're inside," he said instead. "They have some really nice seats upstairs."

"You sound rather familiar with this place."

"I've been here a few times. Oh look, we're in luck. They're ready for us, and it looks like we're going up."

Shinichi trailed after the thief as they were led upstairs and to a table by the windows overlooking the street in front of the restaurant. KID had been right when he'd said the inside of the restaurant wasn't as crowded. The tables were set a decent distance away from each other so they would be able to talk without being overheard. It was also clean and warmly lit. Shinichi had to hand it to him, KID had picked a good place. With the sky growing dark and the city lights coming to life, the view through the window was a vivid swirl of living lights.

It was always strange looking down at all those lights. They were so bright and yet despite the people they burned for they always felt detached. Their brilliance hid the darkness behind them and all the lives that lived beneath them.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Turning back to his companion, Shinichi shook his head. "It's nothing."

"Nothing must be a pretty interesting topic then if you were thinking so hard about it."

Shinichi snorted but he could feel the corners of his mouth rising despite himself. "Not really. Just time consuming."

"Doesn't sound like it's worth it."

"It's probably not."

"Don't spend too much time dwelling on it then," the thief advised, an undertone of seriousness making Shinichi wonder if he'd guessed more of Shinichi's thoughts than he'd let on. "There's only so much any one person can do."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience," Shinichi noted.

"There's nothing I can't do," the thief bragged, winking.

Shinichi rolled his eyes, though he found to his surprise that he wasn't particularly annoyed. "Right, of course, how could I forget."

The waiter arrived with their orders and Shinichi picked up his chopsticks. He poked idly at his udon without much interest as his mind continued to play all the odd images he'd seen earlier in the evening through the theater of his mind. In one simple stroll around town they had witnessed everything from the man who'd eaten his juice carton to someone who'd walked past a polished window but had no reflection. There'd even been someone who seemed to have leaves growing from her wrists, though he supposed that could have been an accessory. Still…it had looked like more. And of course there was that woman who was raging to herself about how her hair had become totally frizzed out over night and now refused to be tamed. Only they had both been able to see the blue sparks of what looked an awful lot like electricity dancing through said frizzy hair as she stormed past them in search of a store with better hair care products.

Most of the signs were little things that may not even be signs, but it was clear that people were beginning to notice that something strange was happening. Most people however seemed to prefer to believe their minds were playing tricks on them and ignore the odd sights cropping up everywhere.

"Hey K—" He cut himself off as he remembered where they were. "Uh, what I meant was, would you say that you tend to have a lot of children at your—in your audience?"

"Quite a few, though parents aren't always inclined to let their kids out late enough to be there," the magician replied. "Hmm, but I didn't see any children doing strange things."

Shinichi nodded. "Neither did I. In fact, it seems as though the only people who were affected were those in their late teens or twenties."

"And not all of those either," the magician agreed. "If it was just a matter of age, there should be a lot more going on."

"It could also depend on how close each person was to—whatever that stuff was." He grimaced slightly. "It's too bad there's no way we could check that."

"Well actually, there _were_ a lot of reporters there. And you know how they are—always taking pictures, making videos…all that good stuff."

The detective shook his head. "I think it would make more sense to investigate what might have been in that lab."

"Could do that too. Wouldn't hurt to check both."

Not really sure what else to say, Shinichi turned his full attention to his noodles. He wasn't a picky eater, but he could tell they were pretty good. It seemed this was one of those restaurants that were actually popular for a reason. Unlike some of the restaurants he'd been dragged to in the past by either his parents or Ran which, in his opinion, had been prime examples of why you should never just take someone else's word for it when it came to the quality of food. Those failed ventures were always extra irritating because you almost always wound up wasting a lot of time waiting in line on top of everything else. For someone who viewed eating as more a necessity than anything special there was little that was more irritating. Not that he couldn't appreciate good food; he just didn't think any food was worth two hours of waiting. Time was one of those things that could never be replaced.

"You know, there're people who'd kill to be where you are right now," the magician said jokingly. "And you're spacing out."

Shinichi glanced up. He'd almost forgotten he had company. "What are you talking about?"

"Having dinner with me, of course. I'm something of a celebrity, you know."

An image of a sea of cheering fans waving KID banners flashed through Shinichi's mind accompanied by the memory of Sonoko's shrill, excited shrieks. Even in memory it made him wince. "Hard not to. Heaven only knows why."

"You wound me!" KID exclaimed, putting a hand over his heart. "After all these years I thought you would've learned to appreciate my art."

"It's not your _art_ that's the problem, it's what you choose to do with it," Shinichi replied dryly before he went back to his dinner. KID was a master magician, no doubt about that, and Shinichi had to admit to himself that he did find some of the magician's tricks amazing to watch, but KID hardly needed to have his ego fed. And Shinichi really didn't understand the manic devotion the thief inspired in his fans (then again, fanaticism rarely made sense).

"Ah, there is hope for you yet it seems."

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

The magician only laughed. "Nothing, nothing. You should finish your soup before it gets cold~."

X

Satou Miwako wasn't on the night shift that day, but she had stayed late regardless in order to finish some of her reports. It was also a good way to keep her mind off of a certain fellow police officer who was still missing. She just didn't understand it. Where could he have gone? He'd sent no message, hadn't called, wasn't on assignment—and hadn't turned up as a case. That last one was a relief, but it didn't mean he wasn't in trouble. By now even the most optimistic officers in the division were starting to feel the gnawing of anxiety.

Letting out a soft hiss of frustration, she forced herself to reread the last line of the report—again. What was that? The fifth time? This was really getting on her nerves. Maybe she should call it a day and try to finish these tomorrow after all.

Her breath left her in a defeated sigh and she began cleaning up the files and folders spread across her desk. She had just put the last folder into its designated drawer when there was a soft flopping sound. Startled, she glanced up to find a small, thin pad of paper lying on her desk.

Where had that come from? She'd just taken everything off her desk. Could she have missed it? But she didn't remember putting anything like that on her desk. And a quick look around revealed that the office was empty.

Huh. So now she was starting to get forgetful too. Great.

She reached out to pick up the paper pad but her hand froze halfway to its target when something black suddenly appeared on the pristine white of the paper. Her eyes widened in shock. Even as she watched the black dot became a line and then a letter until whole words began to form.

/Satou-san./

She read her name with a growing sense of surrealism and watched as the words faded away. Was she hallucinating?

"You just need to get some sleep," she said out loud in an attempt to calm her own gradually fraying nerves. Even as she spoke however more words materialized.

/It's not your imagination,/ it read, the words coming quickly as though in a rush to be written. /It's me, Takagi./

"T—Takagi-kun?" The name left her lips like skittish animals leaping away from a sudden noise.

/Yes. But no one can see or hear me./

"…What?" Okay, this was getting weird. Had she fallen asleep at her desk? But this didn't feel like a dream… "What do you mean? How?"

The reply took a moment to come—like Takagi might have paused to think. If it was indeed Takagi. /I don't know. I just woke up the day after we went to the KID heist and I was like this./

Satou frowned, shaking her head. "This is just…"

/I know it sounds impossible but you have to believe me!/ These words were scrawled in a hurry and she could almost feel the air vibrating with panicked urgency.

She debated with herself for a long moment before relenting. It wasn't like there was anything to lose—except her mind, but it looked like she might have lost that already. And if this was a dream, at least it was unique.

She swallowed and cleared her throat. "Put your hand over the paper."

She waited a moment then reached out. Her heart had begun to pound—in anticipation? Fear? Uncertainty?—and she had to suppress the urge to pull back. Instead she lay her hand over the papers—only she never touched them. There was…something else beneath her hand. For several moments she couldn't quite seem to tell what it was. It was almost as though her own senses were fighting not to recognize it. Then the disorienting sensation passed and she could feel the shape of a warm, human hand beneath her own. Her breath left her in a gasp but she left her hand where it was as she turned to look at the empty space where she thought the hand's owner should be.

"Okay, why don't you start from the beginning? Tell me everything you remember from the moment you woke up and found out you were—were invisible."

X

It was most peculiar, Kaito mused as he watched Shinichi's back, his own hands folded behind his head. He'd spent nearly half a day in the detective's company and the boy hadn't even attempted to discover his identity. In fact, they'd had what Kaito would call a nice, normal day out if they hadn't been 'working'. It was surprising and kind of bizarre but in a good way. He'd always been maybe a little too comfortable in this particular detective's presence. Then again, they'd worked as allies just as often as they had competitors.

What might the day have been like, he wondered, if they hadn't had business to deal with? Not, granted, that they would have had any reason to be spending time together without the investigation. Still, it could be something interesting to consider in the future.

Starting to grow a bit antsy under the intense stare he could feel trained on his back, Shinichi glanced over his shoulder. Kaito caught his gaze and grinned.

"Why are you following me?" he asked, eyeing the thief warily. He was on his way home and had fully expected the magician to have taken his leave. He hadn't.

KID just quirked an eyebrow at him. "I'm not following you, I'm walking you home. There's a difference."

"And you are doing that because…?"

"Isn't it my responsibility to make sure you get back safely?" the thief quipped.

The detective continued to look puzzled. "No, it isn't." He cast a glance up at the sky, noting how dark it had gotten. "Won't people notice that you've been gone half the day?"

"Probably, so a few more minutes or hours isn't going to change anything."

That was most likely true, Shinichi conceded. So it seemed he was stuck with his escort home. Not, he reflected, that he really minded the magician's company. He just wished the guy would stop staring. What was he thinking about anyway? KID had been awfully quiet since they'd left the restaurant. It was unnerving to say the least.

He started as a hand landed on his shoulder, pulling him back a step. Glancing up he found KID watching him with raised eyebrows. "What?"

The magician tilted his head to the side. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I could've sworn this was your house."

Shinichi followed the direction of the thief's waving hand and flushed when he realized that he'd been about to walk past his own front gates. "Oh. Uh, thanks." Turning even redder under KID's amused gaze, he fished out his keys only to look around and find that the gate was already open. He scowled and shot the thief a disapproving look—only to find that said thief had disappeared. He stared for a moment then gave himself a shake and went inside, muttering a bit irritably to himself as he went.

"He could have at least said goodbye."

He was exhausted. It had been one of the longest days of his life and morning felt like it was eons ago. Hanging his jacket on the back of his desk chair, he collapsed into bed without bothering to change into pajamas. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

**TBC**

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><p><strong>A.N<strong>: And Takagi's finally made contact with the outside world! Or I guess existing world would be more accurate, since he's not just invisible... Anyhow, see you next time!


	6. Ghost Writer

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

* * *

><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

6: Ghost Writer

Shinichi woke with a jolt hours earlier than he usually would with the sudden realization that he still had homework. Oh joy. With sheer force of will he dragged himself downstairs despite the unholy hour, spread his books and the necessary papers over the kitchen table, and brewed the biggest, darkest batch of coffee he could manage with the available equipment. Thus armed, he settled down in a chair to do what he should have done last night. He went through six cups of coffee before he was done. By then he had to throw everything into his backpack and make a run for school.

He was eternally grateful for the normalcy of school as the day passed without incident. He couldn't help but sneak glances towards Sonoko and Ran throughout the day however, wondering if they too had started finding themselves with strange powers. He knew for a fact they'd been at the science museum heist, and knowing Sonoko they'd probably been right up front. Neither of them was acting any differently than usual though. Sonoko spent almost every free moment of the day complaining about how all the scales in her house were broken while Ran listened patiently. If they had time for such an inane conversation than there was probably nothing to worry about on that end.

It wasn't until after his last class had let out that the odd turn that reality was taking reared its ugly head once more.

There had been a murder. That wasn't, however, particularly strange. Shinichi ran into murders in planning, in progress, and post execution all the time. What _was_ strange however was that the murderer had still been standing over the victim when he arrived on the scene—and not pretending to be innocent. Instead she stood frozen in shock, the knife she had been about to use lying discarded a few feet away. She didn't need it after all. Not when she had ten six-inch long, steel fingernails growing from her hands which had taken on a metallic sheen on which wet, red streaks still shone.

On the one hand it was a no brainer as far as cases went. On the other… Well, he could suddenly see a whole new sea of possibilities that had opened up before the feet of anyone with ill intentions who might have been at the heist and it was not a pretty picture. Just thinking about it sent a shiver of horror down his spine. Who knew what other kinds of powers people might have started discovering they had? Power of all kinds went to people's heads far too easily already when they were mundane.

The police officers who arrived to take the woman away didn't know what to think of her. She didn't seem inclined to fight them at the moment, still shocked at her own mutated hands, but they could all see how sharp those nails were. They had tried to take them off her, thinking that the nails might be part of some kind of glove or similar accessory, but they found that the things were too firmly attached to be taken away. Instead they bound her hands securely behind her back and multiple officers escorted her to a squad car where some complex maneuvering was required to actually get her inside without hurting anyone. Shinichi overheard one of them mentioning that the woman would be taken to a hospital first so they could check what she had done to herself.

"If you ask me, those looked a little too much like they were hers," a quiet voice remarked from behind Shinichi and he turned to find Satou-keiji watching the departing squad car with an intently focused expression on her face.

"Are you suggesting that she actually grew them?" Shinichi asked, watching the officer's expression closely. Her gaze jerked to meet his and for a moment he thought she looked nervous—something Satou almost never was.

"I know it probably sounds ridiculous," she said finally. "But, lately…" Her gaze slid to the ground as her forehead wrinkled in deep thought.

"Have you seen anything out of the ordinary?"

Glancing quickly back up to meet his eyes, she debated with herself for several minutes before she gestured for him to follow her. Slightly puzzled by the lack of any verbal explanation, Shinichi followed the police officer. She led him down the street to a small, local library. Once there, she found an empty study room near the back of the building and waved Shinichi inside. She shut the door firmly once they were both inside.

"Did you hear about Takagi Wataru's disappearance?"

Shinichi shook his head, a pang of concern racing through him. "No. What happened?"

"I—" Satou cut herself off, scowled, then shook her head. "it was… Just…look at this." Stepping to the table, she placed a blank pad of paper on it and took a seat in one of the empty chairs.

Shinichi gave her a confused look but she simply nodded back at the paper. So he turned back to it. There was nothing spectacular about the paper. It was a blank piece of white notepad paper still attached to its pad with no markings or imprints on its flawless surface.

Or at least it had been blank

Blue eyes widened as the pen Satou had laid beside the paper lifted into the air—and vanished. Then, as though an invisible hand was writing with the now similarly invisible pen, words began to trace themselves across the paper.

/Hello Kudo-kun. It's me, Takagi./

Shinichi looked from the words to Satou then back just in time to see the last traces of ink vanish from the paper. "Takagi-keiji?"

It was Satou-keiji who nodded, looking a bit tense herself. "He says he's been—like this since that KID heist at the science museum."

"You two were there?"

She nodded, then paused, studying his face. "You don't seem particularly surprised."

"This isn't the first case I've seen," Shinichi admitted, glancing again at the paper as he considered his options.

The woman's eyes narrowed slightly. "Case of what exactly?"

"It's…" Breath coming out in a frustrated huff, Shinichi stood up. "It's easier if I just show you. Just wait here for a moment. I need to get some water."

X

"Well, I guess at least now we know more about what we should be looking for—or at," Satou told the air beside her later as she made her way back to the police station. She didn't hear an answer, obviously, but she just knew that Takagi was relieved. It was like a feeling in the air really. Then again, maybe she was projecting her own relief onto him to fill in for the oddness of not being able to see or hear his actual reaction. Though she'd like to think she knew him well enough to be able to guess how he'd be feeling.

"I have to admit though, the idea of what else might start happening isn't a pleasant one," she added, frowning.

Beside her, Takagi couldn't suppress a shudder at the thought. There were undeniably some pretty horrifying possibilities out there…

"Do you think you could, you know, make yourself visible again?" Satou asked suddenly, making him jump. "I mean, Kudo-kun said it could be possible."

It was worth thinking about, Takagi agreed silently. The problem was how. He was definitely getting tired of being nonexistent. It had never occurred to him before but there was a vast ocean of difference between being ignored and not being heard at all. Well, he would try, he decided. Somehow…

Satou let out a quiet sigh as she pushed open the police station doors. She was…really starting to miss Wataru. Even though she knew he was technically still there it wasn't quite the same.

X

Shinichi was only a few streets away from home when a sudden wave of heat and nausea swept over him. The sidewalk before his eyes wavered and swam in wiggling patterns as the ground rocked sideways. Gritting his teeth, he reached out automatically and grabbed at the nearest wall—or at least where he thought the wall should be. His fingers brushed over something rough and hard but it offered no purchase.

His knees hit the ground as he held back a groan. The weather had been warm, but it certainly hadn't been this hot earlier. Besides, even the most temperamental weather didn't change that fast.

"Shinichi?" A hand landed lightly on his back as a vaguely familiar voice called his name. "Are you…all right?"

Focusing on the voice, he struggled to gather his scattered thoughts and realized that the reason that voice was so familiar was because it belonged to Mouri Ran. He bit back a groan. Of all the times to run into each other… Ordering his limbs to straighten, he turned to find the friend (could he still call her that?) he hadn't spoken to in weeks standing there, watching him with an expression he was feeling too ill to put a name to. Well, he didn't have to be able to see straight to hear the confusion and worry in her voice.

He closed his eyes for a moment, making himself take in deep, slow breaths, before he finally looked up and into Ran's face. His vision wasn't swimming anymore and he didn't feel quite as sick either. That was a good start. Schooling his features into the best smile he could manage under the circumstances, he nodded to her.

"Oh, hey Ran. What are you doing here?"

She frowned, the corners of her mouth pulling downward to form a grim line. "Don't avoid the question. You looked like you were about to pass out."

"It's—" He stopped himself before he could say 'nothing'. He was fairly sure that would be the wrong thing to say. Instead he squared his shoulders and tugged a bit nervously at his clothes to straighten them. "It's just the heat getting to me… And I think I might not have gotten enough sleep last night. I'm just heading home to get some rest."

She studied him for a long moment and he didn't have to know her well to see that she didn't believe a word of it. Which was kind of sad because it was mostly true (it really was the heat—or at least as far as his senses were concerned—and he really hadn't gotten much sleep, accounting for the way his limbs were feeling heavy and uncooperative). The irony of it made him want to laugh, only it would probably be one of those kinds of laughs that made people look at you funny and send for a shrink. Well, there wasn't anything he could do about it.

"Well, you'd better get going then," Ran said finally. "Do you want me to walk with you?" she added a bit hesitantly, frown deepening.

"No, it's all right, I can get there by myself," he assured her, hoping it was true.

"I guess if you're sure…"

"I am. Don't worry; it's just a few more blocks anyway."

She nodded. "I guess I'll see you in school then."

"Yeah."

He watched her go with a strange feeling in his chest. There was a time not so long—or maybe eons and eons—ago when it would have taken a great deal more work to get her to let him go the rest of the way home alone if she thought he was ill. Needless to say, if he'd still been Conan she wouldn't have even considered it. On the other hand, she'd spoken to him. So perhaps there was some hope left after all of mending their friendship. It would probably never be as deep as it had been, but the thought still lifted a weight from his heart. He might not feel as strongly about her as he used to think he did, but the thought of actually losing her friendship—or worse, that she might actually have come to hate him—had been gnawing at the corners of his mind since that disastrous explanation. Now at least he could see some light in that direction. If only he knew how to keep it lit.

Turning back in the direction of home, Shinichi focused all of his attention on the task of walking. The overwhelming sensation of being boiled alive had gone, but he still felt a bit wobbly and his stomach had decided that now would be a grand time to remind him that the only solid food he'd eaten all day was a sandwich from the school cafeteria. A little adjustment of schedule was in order. Food first, then a nap.

X

Ran paused at the corner of the street and peered back around it to watch Shinichi making his slow but relatively steady way homeward. She had come this way originally intending to go to his house because even though she wasn't sure what she felt about him anymore she did feel that it was about time they talked again. She hadn't expected to run across him looking like the walking dead. He hadn't seemed that off at school from what she could remember, but of course he wouldn't tell her what was wrong. It made that tiny bit of her that was still a little bit angry flare up all over again, but only for a moment. It was hard to stay mad at someone who looked like he should see a doctor.

Letting out a sigh, she resumed her own walk back to the detective agency where she lived. Her steps were slow however as she wasn't in any real hurry to get there. The place just didn't feel quite the same without Conan there. She found herself wishing at odd hours in the day that she had a real little brother or sister—there were even a few times when she caught herself wishing that Conan was still around. Then she'd feel guilty for thinking it because it was basically the same as wishing Shinichi had not been able to return. And she didn't really want that. No one deserved to be trapped forever behind a falsehood.

Just like no one deserved to be forever played for the fool with a lie.

Yet knowing that couldn't stop her from feeling like she'd lost a member of her family. How could you lose someone who was never really there? Half of whose existence was something you'd filled in yourself with your own imagination?

Or did that really matter? After all, names and appearances were malleable even for normal people these days. So in a sense Conan was real, and it did make sense to miss him. Didn't it? Except that Shinichi was still here so…

Frustrated and tired of the endless circles her thoughts seemed to enjoy dragging her through these days whenever she thought about Shinichi, Ran turned into an ice cream parlor and made her way to the counter. It really was pretty warm outside. Something cold and sweet sounded like just what she needed to clear her head.

She had just gotten her sundae and turned to look for a seat when her eyes landed on a girl seated near one of the windows and she froze in surprise. The person sitting over there drinking a strawberry milkshake could have been her twin with a different hairstyle.

**TBC**

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><p><strong>A.N<strong>: And Ran and Aoko meet! Or will meet. But first, back to Ekoda with Kaito since this one was mostly Shinichi. Anyhow, see you next time!


	7. Birds with Attitude

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

* * *

><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

7: Birds with Attitude

"You seem cheerful today," Aoko noted, watching the extra bounce in her friend's steps curiously. "More so than normal I mean. Did something good happen?"

"Hm?"

She frowned. "I _know_ you heard me. So? Does it have something to do with wherever it was you disappeared to yesterday?"

"It might."

"Why can't you ever just answer?" she asked in exasperation only to get a lopsided grin and a wink in response.

"Because that would be boring."

"You mean normal."

"Normal, boring, it's all the same in the end."

She rolled her eyes at that. "Only to you." Pulling her book bag a little higher up on her shoulder, she glanced down the street. Spotting something, she waved and began to open her mouth before she paused and turned to Kaito instead. "I see Saguru. Could you call him?"

He made a face. "Call him yourself. Personally, I'd say we're better off without him."

"Kaito…" She scowled but, oddly enough, didn't raise her voice even if her expression had grown darker. "Just call, will you?"

The magician took in the strange hint of strain in her voice and the way her knuckles had turned white on the handle of her book bag. His mind instantly jumped back to that incident in their classroom with all the breaking windows. Had she made a connection between her own shouting and the breaking glass? He wasn't sure himself if it had been related, but if she had indeed made the assumption… Was she afraid? The slightly pained gleam in her eyes suggested she might be. He didn't like seeing that expression on her face.

He glanced back down the street to where he could just see the pale splotch of Hakuba's blond hair. Well, he might as well take the opportunity to do some more investigating. If he and Shinichi's theory was right, then Hakuba may also have been affected. He'd been in the thick of the smoke back at the heist as well after all, and he was in the age group where they had seen the most symptoms to date.

"Oi!" Kaito shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth to amplify the sound. "Hakuba!"

In the distance, the blonde's head jerked around so fast that Kaito wouldn't have been surprised if he'd snapped his neck. Brown eyes darted this way and that before landing on Kaito and Aoko. If the magician had to put a name to the emotion that flashed across his face, he would have called it relief. That was certainly a strange reaction.

"Aoko-san, Kuroba," he greeted them, his eyes skidding around them again before returning to his fellow students. "Good morning."

"Good morning," Aoko returned brightly before going on to ask the blonde about the case he'd been working with the police on the other evening. Apparently she'd heard about it from her father and wanted to know more. And of course the blonde was more than happy to oblige. And yet something seemed off about him.

They were walking under a tree when the blonde started and turned his head quickly to look at Kaito. "What was that?"

The magician raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you talking about?"

"What did you just say? I didn't quite catch it," Hakuba replied.

"Really?" Kaito's other eyebrow rose to join the first. "You must be hearing things then. I didn't say anything."

Hakuba frowned and Aoko's brows drew together as she leaned closer to him. "Are you all right? You seem a bit…I don't know, nervous today. Did something happen?"

"N—no, I'm fine." He smiled at her as his composure returned. "I just thought I heard something, but it seems I was mistaken."

And yet Kaito noted that the blonde's skittish behavior persisted all the way to school. It only abated once they'd actually entered the school building. Interesting.

All through their morning classes the blonde kept away from the classroom windows. It wasn't that noticeable since his seat wasn't next to a window, but even during the breaks he seemed to be avoiding going near them. Of course, their classroom windows still didn't have any glass in them as the school had yet to replace them, but all the fragments had been cleaned up and most of the other students were taking a great deal of pleasure from sticking their limbs out to feel the breeze during breaks.

Thinking back, Kaito recalled how the blonde seemed most jumpy around trees and other thickly green areas. He'd kept turning and looking around as though he'd heard something and was trying to place it. And yet the only thing that was ever there to be heard was the rumble of traffic, the rustle of leaves, and the chirping of birds.

Birds… Huh, there were always birds around, he mused. The traffic and the wind were always around, this being a city and all, but the birds were a bit different.

"I wonder…"

When class let out for lunch, the magician bounded from his desk and made a beeline for the class detective. "Hey Hakuba!"

"What is it Kuro—" the blonde started to ask as he turned but he cut himself short as a pair of doves suddenly burst from the magician's hands. He leapt backward, crashed into his recently vacated desk, and fell backward over it with a crash. A few people stared.

"My my, Hakuba, I had no idea you were that afraid of birds," Kaito quipped, leaning over the empty desk and smirking down at the detective on the floor. His doves fluttered to land one on each of his shoulders, cooing softly.

"That wasn't funny Kuroba," the blonde snapped, clambering to his feet and straightening out his clothes. Shooting the magician one last irate glare, he turned and started to walk away.

"So what are they saying anyway?"

The blonde jumped and spun around like a startled deer. "What are you talking about?" he snapped, sounding far more on edge than Kaito had ever heard him. Kind of like he was scared of something. "Birds can't talk."

Bingo. Kaito pulled on an expression of innocent surprise. "What? Who said anything about birds?"

The blonde froze before stammering, "You should clarify your questions then. It sounded as though you were referring to those pets of yours."

The dove on Kaito's left shoulder cooed and the detective stiffened. The magician himself glanced at each dove before looking back at the blonde. "Though come to think of it, you have been paying an awful lot of attention to all the birds you passed. Are you learning to speak bird then?"

"D—don't be ridiculous! Birds do not have a language."

Kaito had never seen such a panicked expression on the blond detective's face before. His face had gone paper white and he was actually sweating as his eyes darted from side to side, looking everywhere but at the doves. Ah, the magician thought with an inward grin, the blonde thought he was going mad. It probably wasn't supposed to be funny, but oh how he wanted to burst out laughing. Still, there was no way he was passing up this chance.

Coaxing one dove onto his right hand, he held it up right in front of the blonde's face and was rewarded by said blonde jerking his head away as he backed into the desk behind him. "So would you like to practice with Shiroki here? He's always been very talkative."

"K—Kuroba!"

It was such a pity, Kaito mused, that Aoko had to choose that moment to come up behind him and whack him in the back of the head with her textbook. "Kaito! What are you doing to Saguru?"

"Aoko," he complained, stepping quickly out of her immediate reach as he rubbed the back of his head with his free hand. "I wasn't doing anything!"

She gave him a disbelieving look before turning back to Hakuba. Her expression grew concerned. "Are you feeling all right Saguru? You look pale."

The blonde visibly pulled himself together. "I…think perhaps I should go see the nurse. If you'll excuse me…"

"I'll come with you," Aoko said quickly, reaching out to place a steadying hand on his arm. But the blonde gently removed her hand.

"No, I can manage on my own. You should go get lunch before class starts. It's almost time."

She let out a short sigh but relented. "All right, but let me know what the nurse says later, okay?"

"I will."

Once he was gone, she turned her gaze back to Kaito. "What did you say to him Kaito? And don't lie to me—you must have said something."

He shrugged, making both doves disappear. "I just asked him if he wanted to practice speaking to my doves."

She frowned. "Why would you ask him something so stupid?"

"Because he's been jumpy around birds all day. Haven't you noticed?"

He could see from the momentary silence and the thoughtful look on her face that she was recalling the day's events. "I…guess he does keep looking over his shoulder when we hear birds singing… But doesn't he have a pet bird?"

"Yeah, the sidekick. But now he's jumping every time something chirps. Weird huh?"

"It is a bit strange," she agreed then scowled. "But if you noticed he was already nervous, why did you go and tease him like that? That's just mean!"

"What?" He stared at her in honest surprise.

"You're always picking on him with your stupid pranks and making fun of him! I know you like to poke people, but I never thought you'd stoop to _frightening_ someone! Why can't you just be friends? I mean, I'm sure you two could get along if you'd just try. But I keep asking and asking and I feel like I'm talking to myself half the time. Is it really that hard?"

"Aoko…"

"You're my friend Kaito, but I—I like Saguru and I'm sick of having to deal with this all the time!"

Kaito opened his mouth to say something, but Aoko shook her head. "I'm going to go get lunch." That said, she turned and headed for the door.

He watched her go, feeling a rather unfamiliar emotion that took him a few moments to recognize as guilt. It wasn't something he felt often. She'd always taken his pranks and other antics in stride. She occasionally got mad, but she'd found them fun too. He was sure of it. It had never crossed his mind that she might actually be bothered by any of it to this degree…

X

Hakuba Saguru sat in the nurse's office as the nurse finished writing on her clipboard. Finally she turned back to him with a friendly smile.

"I don't think you've caught anything, but you do seem a bit pale. I've spoken to the office so you should go home and rest for the day. If you're not feeling better by tomorrow you should go see a doctor. All right?"

"I'll do that. Thank you ma'am."

"You're welcome. Take care."

He left the infirmary and headed out of the school. As he passed beneath one of the trees overlooking the path to the main gates, he heard voices chattering over his head. Taking in a deep breath, he looked up. As he'd come to expect, there was no one there. Instead two white doves were perched in the branches over his head. They seemed to sense him watching them and both turned to look back at him with curious, beady black eyes.

He stared back.

The bird on the left turned then to the bird on the right. /I think there's something wrong with this one. It just keeps staring./

/I noticed,/ the other dove grumbled, shuffling around a bit.

The human in question glanced around nervously. There was no one in sight. He knew birds couldn't talk, but he couldn't deny that he was hearing something that sounded an awful lot like speech. Maybe…maybe he really should try talking to them? Just thinking it felt absurd, but…

He took a deep breath and looked back up. "Are—are you Kuroba's birds?"

They stared at him then looked at each other again.

/Does this human honestly think I would answer a question like that?/ the first dove asked its companion incredulously, fluffing out its feathers in indignation. /Some people have no manners./

/Some humans are just like that,/ the other dove replied sagely. /Just ignore him./

After that, both birds spread their wings and took off. The blonde watched them go with a sinking sensation of dread. They had obviously heard and understood him.

But…that wasn't possible. It just wasn't.

Was he losing his mind? But they had reacted specifically to his words, hadn't they? Or was it a coincidence they had flown off when they had?

It had to be a coincidence, he decided, because it couldn't be anything else. Birds did not speak. This was a fact. He knew this was a fact. He had to believe in the facts.

Giving himself a shake, he started home, determined to put the whole, bizarre morning behind him. And hopefully he would be back to normal by tomorrow.

X

Aoko let out a quiet sigh as she sipped at the strawberry milkshake she'd ordered. She wasn't sure what had possessed her to come all the way to Beika by herself but she'd just needed some time to think and here she was less likely to run into anyone she knew. Then again, Kaito was the one who'd told her about this ice cream parlor, so it was possible that he might show up, but the chances of that happening were very small. He seemed to have picked up on her desire for some space even if he had been giving her worried looks since her unintentional tirade at lunchtime. She really hadn't meant to say all that. She'd even admitted that she liked… But that wasn't the important part.

"Excuse me."

Startled, she looked up and around—to find herself looking at a girl who looked an awful lot like her long lost twin. Her mouth fell open despite herself before she gathered her wits about her enough to answer. "Y—yes?"

"My name is Mouri Ran," the stranger introduced herself, bowing. "Sorry if I'm bothering you, but I couldn't help but notice that we, uh…"

Aoko laughed. "Look alike?"

"Yeah." Ran smiled a bit sheepishly.

"I don't mind. It _is_ pretty unusual. I'm Nakamori Aoko, it's nice to meet you. Would you like to sit? Your sundae is melting."

"Thanks." Ran slid into the seat opposite her and quickly scooped up the melting edges of the sundae so that it was no longer in danger of dripping. "I haven't seen you around here before. Do you live nearby?"

"Oh no, I live in the Ekoda district. I just came here to do some thinking," Aoko admitted, glancing out the window at the busy street beyond.

Ran watched her pensive expression for a moment. "Do you…want to talk about it?"

"It's nothing really…" Sighing, she drank some more of her milkshake then paused to stare into its creamy, pink depths. "It's just…I kind of said some things to a friend of mine earlier that I didn't mean to say…"

"Oh, I see…"

"But it was stuff I've kind of been thinking too, you know? So it would feel weird to apologize."

"Would you mind if I asked you what you said?" Ran asked hesitantly, somewhat confused by the other girl's words.

Aoko thought this over for a moment then smiled. "Actually, if you wouldn't mind listening, being able to talk to someone usually helps me think."

"I don't mind. I know what you mean. Sometimes having to explain something makes you put it in a way that makes more sense."

"That's so true," Aoko laughed, eyes brightening. "I guess it's kind of like math. Saguru says when you can explain how to work a problem out to someone who doesn't know anything about it well enough for them to understand, that's when you know you really know it yourself."

"Is he the friend you were talking about?"

"Oh, no, he's a different friend," Aoko replied, turning a bit red. "You see, there's this boy I grew up with. We've always been really good friends, but lately… I don't know, I just don't feel like I know him anymore… He keeps going places and not telling me where, and when I try to ask him what he's been up to he always avoids the question and tries to distract me with those stupid magic tricks of his and—stuff." She scowled darkly. "It's like he never takes anything I say seriously. He just blows everything off like it's all some big game! I—got mad at him earlier because he was making fun of Saguru again. Well actually he makes fun of everyone a lot, he's a bit of a prankster really, but it's usually all fun and I know he doesn't mean any harm but whatever he said to Saguru looked like it really scared him. I never thought he'd do something like that… I…guess that means that what really bothers me is…well, I just can't tell what he's thinking anymore. I used to think I knew him really well. Now it's like we're just getting farther and farther apart…" She trailed off with a sigh before glancing back up at Ran only to pause. "Mouri-san? Are you all right?"

"Just call me Ran," the other girl replied then smiled a bit ruefully. "And I'm fine, it's just that what you were saying kind of reminded me of a problem I've been having too."

"Well, you listened to me ramble, it's only fair that I listen to you right?"

The two girls' eyes met over their respective deserts and they both laughed, feeling suddenly a great deal more lighthearted.

X

"Good evening~!"

"How did you get my phone number?" Shinichi asked in surprise before remembering who exactly he was talking to. "Never mind, don't answer that. I don't want to know. Why are you calling me?" He'd been seated in his library, reading a book for school after a nap which had left him feeling a lot better than he had earlier that afternoon. Of all the things to be interrupted by, a call from Kaitou KID was definitely not what he would have expected.

"I just thought you might want to know that I was here."

Shinichi frowned. "What exactly do you mean by here?" Instead of answering however, KID hung up. Shinichi drew the cell phone away from his ear slowly and stared at it a moment. What—

"I have the videos!" the thief announced, waltzing into the Kudo library and making Shinichi jump. Okay, so apparently KID had meant what he'd said quite literally. Why had he even bothered calling?

"Couldn't you have at least rung the doorbell _before_ letting yourself in?" Shinichi demanded, settling back into his chair as his heart rate began to calm.

"But that would mean I'd have to make a detour out front. Besides, I called, didn't I?" KID pointed out, placing a bag on the reading table before flopping into an empty armchair for all the world like this was his house and not Shinichi's.

"I hope you closed the window then," the detective huffed, shooting his 'guest' a flat look before getting up to peer into the bag on the table. It contained a stack of unmarked disks in plastic holders. He cringed inside at the thought of how KID had probably gotten them.

"They're all copies," the thief in question said as though he'd read Shinichi's mind. "Besides, you'd have had to ask them for these eventually anyway. We're actually saving them some time and effort."

"You're assuming they'd have just given us the recordings when asked."

"Yeah, well, I'm sure they would have," KID replied, waving away Shinichi's objections as irrelevant. "We can give 'em back when we're done if it makes you feel better. So are we gonna watch them or do you want to stare at the discs some more?"

"I have homework you know—as you should too."

"We don't have to go through them all at once."

"Why did you bring them here to watch anyway?" Shinichi asked curiously.

"Didn't you want to see them too?"'

"Well, yeah, but—"

"There you go then. Come on. You look like you could use a break anyway. Might as well watch some TV."

Before Shinichi could agree or protest, he had already been pulled from his comfortable chair, down the hall and the stairs, and into the living room where he was pushed into a different chair as KID moved to pop a disc into the DVD player. He was slightly disturbed by how the thief seemed to know exactly where everything was in his house. Although it probably shouldn't surprise him since he knew KID had already been there twice before. He'd probably taken some time to familiarize himself with the layout of things just in case of emergencies.

Watching KID bound around his living room, setting things up, Shinichi couldn't help but feel like something was a bit off about the magician today. It wasn't anything obvious, but there seemed to be a slight strain to his usual cheeriness. Maybe a hint of distraction. Considering how good of an actor the man was however, whatever was bothering him must really be severe.

Shinichi debated asking him about it but decided not to. KID was, after all, a thief. He wasn't likely to take too well to receiving personal questions from a detective, even if he seemed hell bent on barging into Shinichi's house on a freakishly regular basis.

Well, if he really was coming over because it helped him unwind (which would be downright weird, but this _was_ KID after all), then Shinichi wasn't going to stop him. He knew too well how hard peace could be to find sometimes. And besides, the thief was being helpful in his own way, whatever his reasons.

And, really, Shinichi had to admit it was…kind of nice to have company now and then. He didn't get many guests. Ran used to come over fairly regularly, but she didn't anymore. His parents swung by on occasion but he hadn't seen them either in a while. In fact, now that he thought about it, in the last few weeks the only people who'd visited his house were Agasa and Haibara.

Letting out a quiet sigh, he stood up. "Do you want anything to drink?"

KID shot him a look that might have been surprised then grinned. "Can't watch a movie without drinks, eh? Anything's fine."

Shinichi nodded and left for the kitchen. They spent the next hour watching one of the heist recordings, memorizing faces and locations for future reference—and listening to KID give the play by play on his show since 'You didn't get to see any of it'. Shinichi had to admit, it made what might otherwise have been a tedious task a great deal less boring, especially when they got to comparing notes on the various audience members they had either seen or felt were worth keeping an eye out for.

When they decided to call it a day, KID announced that he would be back before disappearing with a puff of smoke and a jaunty wave. And he kept his word. The following day he was back at almost the same time.

Shinichi was a little surprised one morning when he realized that his life had actually settled down some these last few days. He got up in the morning, went to school, helped the police, and went home to do his homework. And every night he spent about an hour watching and discussing the recordings of the science museum heist with Kaitou KID—who had started bringing popcorn.

**TBC**

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><p><strong>A.N<strong>: Thanks for reading and see you next time!


	8. A Silent Night

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

* * *

><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

8: A Silent Night

"—He knew I was already hard pressed for money and he was still going to fire me! Just because I said I wanted credit for the idea I pitched!" The man continued to rant as the police dragged him away. It was, Shinichi reflected, an all too familiar scene. When had this become normal? He couldn't remember.

"Well, that's it then," Megure remarked, turning to face him with a triumphant smile. "Good work Kudo-kun."

Shinichi made a noncommittal noise in the back of his throat. "I'm sorry, but I have a lot of homework I need to get back to, so…"

"Go on, we can handle the rest."

He nodded his thanks and turned, making his way out of the building and back onto the bustling city streets where life was moving on as it would every other day. To the rest of the world, nothing had changed. Shinichi took a moment to observe the happy, oblivious passersby, wondering idly if he would be seeing any of them in the near future on some other crime scene.

Really the more he saw of people and all the petty reasons they found to kill each other the less he felt he understood them. Oh the experience made putting the pieces together and solving cases easier, but the stories…it was like every story painted another picture of the illogical workings of the human mind that he just didn't get. Could they really not come up with better ways to solve their problems? How could they think that taking a life would solve their problems? It wasn't the same as slapping a hand that had reached for something forbidden, but sometimes it seemed that that was how some people saw it. And he just couldn't see how they had come to that conclusion. Of course there was the occasional case when he supposed you might be able to argue that the culprit had no choice (_might_), but most of the time it looked to him like their idea of the easy way out. It was extremely annoying and a little depressing at the same time, especially when the whole thing turned out to be some tragic misunderstanding.

He tugged irritably at his school jacket. Why was it so cold all of a sudden?

Today's case had taken longer than usual because of a ridiculously large number of suspects, including several who had to be found and rounded up. Now it was already late in the evening and he was not looking forward to another night of boring schoolwork. The only bright spot of the day had been that Satou-keiji had gotten him a folder with copies of all the information she had been able to find on the unopened museum lab exhibit. He'd have to find time to read it.

And he might as well pick something up for dinner on the way home.

X

"Welcome home," Kuroba Chikage greeted her son as he came through the door. "You have visitors."

Kaito paused in the motion of taking off his shoes. "Really? Who is it?"

"Aoko-chan and Hakuba-kun," his mother replied, waving him towards the living room. "I'll go make some tea."

Kaito grimaced inwardly but none of it showed on his face as he made his way into the living room. "Hey Aoko, I didn't know you were coming over. Weren't you having dinner with your dad today?"

"I am," she replied. "But that's not until five so I thought we'd come and see if you wanted to go to that new karaoke place with us. Since you haven't been around much lately… Where have you been going anyway? No one at school seems to have seen you around much."

He shrugged, plopping down into a chair and beginning to shuffle a deck of cards he produced from what appeared to be thin air. "Here and there."

She scowled, temper flaring. "That's not an answer!"

He laughed lightly, making the cards arc from one hand to the other. "Man Aoko, you know I'm eighteen, right?"

She paused at that and stared at him. "What? What does that have to do with anything?"

He drew on a longsuffering face to hide his grin. "It's just you're starting to sound like my mom—only my mom doesn't worry half as much as you do."

She sniffed. "Probably because she knows you're a lost cause."

"My dear Aoko, you wound me!" he cried, bringing a hand to his chest before bursting out laughing. He was glad to see an answering smile creep onto her face—slightly exasperated and maybe a touch irritated but still a genuine smile. It seemed she wasn't mad at him anymore. "But really, I've just been seeing an old friend."

"What kind of old friend?"

He shot Hakuba a questioning look. "Dunno. What kinds can you have?"

"I think what he means is that it's a bit strange that no one I've talked to has seen you but you keep saying it's an old friend," Aoko explained, pausing to thank Chikage who had brought in tea and a plate of cookies. "Is it anyone we know?"

"Probably not," he replied, wondering when she had started teaming up with Hakuba in trying to pry into his business. "We ran into each other a few years ago after a magic show actually."

One blond eyebrow rose. "You wouldn't happen to be referring to a KID heist, would you?"

"It always comes back to that with you, doesn't it?" Kaito mused, flipping the two of diamonds into the air. It flashed and became a dove who darted around the room before landing on his shoulder. He noted the way the blonde flinched. Aoko must have too though because she changed the subject.

"So did you want to come with us to the karaoke place or not?" she asked.

He heaved a melodramatic sigh which made her roll her eyes. "Alas, I must pass up this chance to hear your beautiful voice raised in song as I have some work I need to do."

"You want to do homework on a Friday night?" she asked in shock.

"Heavens no!" He drew himself up in indignation. "I'm working on something new I came up with the other day. It's going to be awesome!"

Aoko snorted. "I should've guessed. Well, um, if you change your mind…just call me okay? And if we're still there you can come join us."

"Will do."

He saw them to the door, waiting until he was sure they weren't going to be suddenly turning back before shutting it. That was when his mother stepped up behind him, a mildly concerned expression gleaming in her eyes.

"Don't you think you should have gone with them?" she asked gently, watching his face with that intent look in her eyes that always made him wonder just how much she knew or guessed about his doings.

"On their date?" he scoffed. "No way!"

"She really is worried you know. Aoko-chan has been over here looking for you a lot lately."

"She has?" he asked in some surprise.

Chikage nodded before her gaze turned amused. "So when am I going to meet this new friend you keep saying you've been going off to see?"

A sudden image of Shinichi and his mother both standing in the front hall of his house flashed through Kaito's mind and he bit back a laugh. That would certainly be a day for the records.

"Maybe one day," he replied, still chuckling. Feeling suddenly a great deal lighter and more like himself, he sprinted up the stairs to his room,

X

"Whoa that's a lot of paper you've got there Tantei-kun. If you need to put your head down, I'd recommend one of those fluffy things on your bed they call pillows. Trust me, it would be ten times more comfortable, probably twenty."

Shinichi sat up straight in his chair, realizing belatedly that he must have dozed off while doing his homework.

"KID?" he asked in surprise, rubbing the bleariness from his eyes as he glanced at the clock. "You're here early."

"Well, I had a pretty empty calendar today," the thief replied with a grin, dropping into one of the library armchairs. "You look tired," he continued, voice growing much more serious. Shinichi wondered if he even heard a touch of concern in there. Oddly enough, he probably had. KID, he'd decided, was really a good person even if he liked to drive people crazy.

"I just had a long case today," he replied, reaching for his coffee mug only to find it empty. He stared a bit forlornly into its unoccupied depths before setting it aside with a sigh.

"If you're that tired, you should go to bed," KID pointed out. "It _is_ a Friday. I'm sure your homework can wait one weekend."

The detective only grimaced, turning back to the mound on the table before him. "You'd be surprised. If I don't get through at least some of this today I won't have everything I need done come Monday."

"You must have some very assignment-happy teachers," the thief observed.

"It's mostly makeup work," he explained. "For missing so much school." He had talked it over with the school. He had missed so much—almost all of the first two years in fact—that they had seriously been considering making him take the years over. But he'd always been at the top of his class so they had relented and decided that he would be allowed to graduate with the rest of his year if he could pass all the necessary exams and complete makeup assignments that would cover a variety of subjects and materials to be determined by each of his instructors. He had, in effect, three years of high school work to complete in the span of one which was rapidly coming to an end. On the bright side, he already knew a lot of the material, but that didn't mean he didn't have to spend time writing it all down (the dark side of course being that since he wasn't learning anything new it was mostly dull work, and dull work made his mind go numb after prolonged exposure).

Dragging his gaze away from the heaps of paper and books taunting him from the desk, he picked up the folder Satou-keiji had given him and turned back to the thief. "This is the information the police were able to find regarding the lab itself." He blinked when the folder disappeared from his hands. Glancing up, he found KID was now in possession of it.

"I'll read these," the thief declared, ignoring Shinichi's confused look. "You do your homework."

"What? But—"

"You said yourself you need to finish it. So just go on and work and I'll tell you anything important I find in here when you're done," the thief explained, waving the folder about by way of emphasis. "I assure you I won't miss anything. Although," he added, thumbing through the folder's contents. "It doesn't look like there'd be much to miss. Was this all they could get?"

"Unfortunately. According to Satou-keiji most people haven't made the connection yet between the museum incident and the weird things going on. Several people have shown up at the hospital with…odd symptoms, but half the people who know that are still trying to figure out the trick behind it—or complaining about how it's impossible."

"But we've confirmed that everyone we've seen was at my heist."

"Yeah, but so were a lot of other people who are still perfectly normal. So the museum doesn't want to be connected to this, and everyone else doesn't want to acknowledge that it's happening."

"That's not very helpful," KID observed, giving Shinichi a pointed look that spoke volumes. "Perhaps we should try a different approach."

"These things always take time to do right. Give it a chance before you decide it doesn't work. If it really doesn't work, then we'll find another way."

"Ah, so you won't object to some more creative means if these don't pan out?"

"Weren't you going to read those?" Shinichi asked dryly.

KID just grinned and made a great production out of pulling papers out of the folder and beginning to read. Shinichi rolled his eyes at the thief's theatrics. At the same time though he had to smile.

"Uh, thanks," he muttered, turning back to his homework. "I—appreciate the help."

KID glanced up from Satou-s report and his usual grin softened into a smile that the detective couldn't see. "No problem."

The library fell into a comfortable silence interrupted only by the quiet scratching of pen on paper and the rustle of turning pages.

X

"Heiji! Hurry up!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Hefting the rather heavy pack he was carrying higher up on his shoulder, he lengthened his stride and raced down to the lake shore where Kazuha was waiting for him. "Jeez, you can at least slow down and wait for me or something. I mean, I'm the one carrying all the stuff."

"But you were taking so long," she pointed out, her eyes dancing as she turned and spread her arms out to indicate the lake. "If I was going to have to wait anyway might as well wait where there's a view, right?"

"Ch. So did you want to eat here then?"

"Sure. Here." Taking the pack from him, she set it on the grass and pulled out a blanket. Straightening, she began to lay the blanket out on the ground. "Can you get the food?"

"Right, just hold on a sec." Heiji dropped to his knees in the grass and began unloading the pack onto the picnic blanket. "Man your mom sure made a lot of stuff. Does she really expect the two of us to eat all this in one go?"

"You can probably take as many goes at it as you'd like," his companion laughed. "We did say we'd be here all day."

"That's true. But that doesn't mean I want to haul this around that long. Besides, didn't you say you wanted to go boating?"

"Then we'd better get started. I'm starving!"

He passed her a plate and watched as she loaded food onto it. It was good to see her taking such an interest. According to her mom she hadn't been eating much lately. In fact, every time she spent more than a few hours indoors she started to get listless and lose interest in anything and everything except going outside. Yet at the same time there were times like now when he'd swear that she seemed happier than she'd ever been before. It was confusing not being able to know if he should be worried about her or glad for her. Frankly it was driving him up the wall.

"Wow, Mom really outdid herself today," Kazuha was saying as she dug into her food.

"Guess she wanted to make sure we ate," Heiji suggested. The assortment was truly vast. It seemed Toyama-san wanted to be sure that there was at least some things that would appeal to her daughter's appetite. Although judging by the way Kazuha was putting it all away she needn't have worried.

"All done!" she announced and Heiji nearly dropped his own plate in shock.

"What? Already?"

"Yep. Why're you looking at me like that?"

"Uh, no reason." Except that she'd eaten more than he had and finished before he did—both fairly unusual events in their own rights. Maybe she was making up for her lack of appetite before.

"Come on Heiji, the boats are waiting!"

"Why don't you go ahead and get a boat while I pack the rest of this up?"

Nodding, she turned and started running down towards the lake's edge and the wooden dock that protruded out onto the still waters. He watched her go with a faint smile that froze when his eyes focused on her feet. She was running downhill so it was only natural that she was running rather quickly, but that didn't explain the way her feet only seemed to be brushing the tips of the grass.

She wasn't touching the ground at all.

Over the past few weeks he'd been so focused on Kazuha's strange moods that the other odd things that had been happening had completely slipped his mind. After all, he hadn't seen anything else strange lately. Now they came rushing back with a vengeance.

"Heiji!" Kazuha called, coming to a stop and turning around to look at him. "Why're you just standing there?"

"Oh! I—uh—sorry, just spaced out there for a second." He rubbed at the back of his neck, trying not to stare at how it wasn't until she had stopped that he saw her feet sink into the soft grass. "Just give me a minute!"

X

Letting out a breath of satisfied relief as he straightened out the last stack of papers he'd told himself he had to finish that day, Shinichi stretched and glanced around to find KID watching him with his chin propped in one hand. The folder he'd been perusing lay closed and he'd obviously been done for a while. It was a little unsettling to think that he'd just been sitting there watching but Shinichi decided he didn't really want to think about that. The thief was probably rather bored by now. Why hadn't he said anything sooner?

"So was there anything useful?" he asked.

"Yep." The thief straightened and waved a hand, causing the folder to fall open apparently all by itself on a particular page of notes. "Get this. It turns out that lab wasn't open to the public yet because it was being used by a scientist by the name of Hakuren Naomi. She donated a lot of money to the museum on the condition that she be allowed to use the equipment they purchased to finish a project of hers before they opened it."

"What was the project?"

KID shrugged. "According to this, no one knows. I assume that means your police friends weren't able to contact the woman herself."

"Whoever broke in may have been trying to steal either her research or the project itself then," Shinichi mused, tapping his pen lightly on the table as he thought. "But if all they wanted was information they wouldn't have needed to bring…whatever it was they threw into that tank."

"Unless that was their goal from the start."

"Which opens up the possibility that the culprit might even be the researcher herself executing the next step of her experiment." The detective sighed. "It would help a lot if we could find out what Hakuren-san was actually doing in there. At least now we know what the next step is." He stifled a yawn and almost reached for the empty coffee mug again before he remembered that that would be pointless.

KID's lips quirked in amusement as he stood. "Looks like I'd better get going so you can get some sleep. I'll see you on Sunday~."

Shinichi watched him open the window with a slightly puzzled frown. "Is it wise for you to keep coming here?"

KID paused and cast a wry grin over his shoulder at the detective. "Since you're only asking me this now, I'd say it's working out so far. Anyhow, I want to know who interrupted my heist and what they did to cause all this to happen just as much as you do. It only makes sense to put our heads together—our heads being much more effective I'd say than the rest of them out there running around like chickens in the slaughter house screeching about how none of this is possible."

Giving the detective one last cheery wave, KID disappeared out the window.

On his way out he swapped his trademark white uniform for something a little less eye-catching in black. Kaito paused outside long enough to see Shinichi shut the window before continuing on his way. His steps were silent as he left, the veils of the night falling about him to hide him from any prying eyes.

That last question had given him a moment's pause. He really had been over here a lot lately—certainly more often than he had first intended. But with Aoko spending so much time with Hakuba and him not feeling particularly inclined to hang around and listen to the two rag on his alternate identity, he'd maybe started treating the Kudo Manor as a sort of refuge.

It was true that he wanted to know who had been behind the incident at the museum, but it wasn't just that. If anything that was the excuse. He might be a master liar with no real scruples about plying his arts, but he never lied to himself (that was a fast and easy way to lose in this game they called life, and he didn't like losing). He went to Shinichi's not just so they could sort this out or to get away from Aoko but because he wanted to be there.

Here he'd finally found someone who might actually understand why he'd made the choices he'd made—who he thought he might not mind sharing some of his secrets with. It was kind of funny really because he hadn't realized he'd been looking. When had his life begun to revolve around heists and seeking revenge? He had barely noticed how isolated he had become before he'd turned around and discovered that Aoko was spending more time with Hakuba than with him. Then he'd taken another look around and noticed how, though he knew a lot of people none of those people knew anything about him. Nothing important anyway. And the thing was that that was exactly how he'd orchestrated it to be.

Some things were a little trickier than they should be when you were an internationally wanted thief however, and making friends—or at least friends you wanted to be intimate ones—just happened to be one of them. But he wanted this friendship, maybe more than he had wanted anything in a long time. Well, he had never been one to be daunted. He would just have to take things one step at a time.

X

Shinichi watched the thief go with a twinge of loss. The house always felt a lot emptier in those moments after KID took his leave. It was strange to realize just how comfortable he'd come to feel in the magician's presence. He had talked more and spent more time with KID these last few weeks than he had anyone else. He might even venture to say that he'd come to look forward to the thief's visits even though he knew he shouldn't.

Helpful as he was being, KID was still a thief with his own agenda and little regard for rules of any kind. While Shinichi felt sure that he had his reasons, it didn't change the fact that they were each what they were. And yet he found himself thinking more and more lately that… Well, it wasn't as though KID ever hurt anyone, and he returned everything he stole. So what did it matter that he liked to borrow people's gems for a while? A lot of the owners of said gems didn't even seem to mind since all the hype the magician made about his heists generated great publicity for them. So in the end the only people who suffered were the police and detectives with their wounded pride.

He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose and beginning to feel guilty. He shouldn't be thinking like this. Spending so much time with KID was starting to get to him. The thief was far too charismatic as it was (the screaming fans were just the obvious hint, but really, what other criminal could actually dictate to the police the rules by which his heists should be dealt with and have them obeyed?). Spending so much free time with him was making it harder and harder to think about him as a criminal even though Shinichi _knew_ he was one. It helped—or was that didn't help?—that he was so different from the other criminals Shinichi dealt with in his daily life.

Well, when this case with the museum was finally sorted out, things would probably go back to normal. They'd go back to their separate worlds and normal life would start back up. Or as normal as it was ever likely to get for either of them.

The thought filled him with a sense of reluctance he couldn't quite explain that weighed at his steps as he made his way to bed.

He halted for a moment in the doorway of his bedroom and his brows furrowed as he straightened abruptly and glanced around the room. That was…odd. For a moment there he'd felt like he was being watched. But the curtains were closed and there was nowhere to hide in the room. Had it been his imagination? The gaze had felt…not malicious exactly but certainly not friendly. Well, just to be safe, he conducted a quick but thorough search of the house and checked all the windows and doors. Satisfied that he was alone, he returned to his room. Maybe he really was getting too paranoid.

**TBC**

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><p><strong>A.N<strong>: Hmm, a little on the quiet side again, but you could probably have guessed that from the title. Anyhow, see you next time!


	9. An Acid Touch

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

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><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

9: An Acid Touch

"—ichi~, Shinichi~."

Shinichi's forehead wrinkled as his consciousness swam slowly back to wakefulness, egged on by the persistent noise in his right ear that sounded like his name. His face scrunched up a bit in irritation as he turned away from the noise. It was the weekend and he didn't want to get up yet. Not when he didn't have to. But the noise persisted, accompanied by what felt like a hot breeze across his ear. Had he left the window open? Groaning, he pried open his eyes—and found himself staring straight up into a face wearing a monocle that was almost nose to nose with him.

He literally leaped out of his bed with a cry of surprise just as light flooded through the room. Tumbling over the opposite edge of the mattress, he winced as he banged his elbows on the floor. Scrambling to his feet, he glared at the grinning magician who had woken him only to find said magician examining something on the screen of a small, digital camera. If he had to make a guess, he'd say the intruder was probably looking at a picture of his startled flight out from under the covers.

"_What_ are you doing here?" he demanded, wincing inwardly at the almost squeak that emerged from his mouth.

"Hm? Didn't I say I'd be coming?" KID inquired, still looking at the damned picture. "I could've sworn I mentioned it."

"You said Sunday! That's tomorrow!"

"Oh, really? My mistake." He made no move to leave.

"This is my room!"

The camera disappeared in a puff of smoke as the thief made a show of looking around the room. "Yep, looks that way. What's your point?"

"The point is that you're not supposed to barge into people's private rooms without asking—especially when they're asleep!"

"Aw, but how else was I supposed to get a picture of you in pajamas?" KID ducked just in time to avoid the pillow that flew through the air where his head had been. Laughing, the thief raced out of the room. Moments later the sound of the bedroom door slamming could be heard throughout the entire house.

Still laughing, Kaito made his way to the library.

"You have issues, you know that?" Shinichi grumbled as he arrived in the library with a steaming mug of black coffee. KID eyed the mug with great amusement. It was twice the size of most ordinary mugs.

"I have been told," the thief replied, sounding totally unperturbed.

Shinichi shot him a look before opting just to sink into an armchair and invest a few moments in the wonderful mug of coffee that would, he was sure, make everything better. While it didn't turn back time so that he could sleep some more or make the thief disappear, it did help him feel a little more ready to deal with the situation.

"So why exactly are you here again?" he asked, gaze still fixed on the warm, brown depths of his mug. "In the morning?"

KID chuckled. "I wouldn't really call this morning. It's almost noon."

Shinichi took another long gulp of coffee. "That doesn't answer the question."

"I came to keep you company, of course."

"Keep me company?" Shinichi repeated skeptically. "That's it?" He'd been wondering if the thief had actually managed to find some new information in the half a day and night since he'd last seen him.

He got an eye-roll in return. "Oh come on, you can't tell me you don't get lonely rattling around in this oversized house of yours."

That gave Shinichi a moment's pause. Did KID feel _sorry_ for him? Well, that was… Actually, he wasn't sure what that was—except maybe kind of depressing. Did he really seem so out of it as to make a criminal feel obliged to keep him company? Not that it wasn't thoughtful on said thief's part, but still…

"If you're really here just for that, you can probably go. This house may be empty, but really that just means it's peaceful. That way I can actually concentrate when I have work to do and there's no one around who can drop dead for whatever reason." He laughed a little as he glanced around at the shelves all around them, each full of dozens upon dozens of books. Blue eyes misted faintly as he recalled memories from long ago of hours spent lost in the very books that now stood all around them. Several of them were like old friends really. "I suppose you could call it a sanctuary of sorts. So as you can see your pity is somewhat misguided."

"Pity?" KID raised an eyebrow in what appeared to be real surprise. "Who said anything about pity? Honestly, why can't I be here just because I like you?"

The detective rewarded him with a bland look. "You didn't plan to be here today. You've always been punctual to the letter and we both know you said Sunday. So what changed your mind?"

KID held his gaze for a long moment before letting out what sounded like an exasperated sigh and sitting down—on empty air. He made a point of pulling his legs up so that he was sitting Indian style, making it blatantly obvious that his feet weren't on the ground. That part of Shinichi's mind that was always speculating about something wondered if he'd set up one of his tricks while he wasn't looking or if the thief had been practicing with his new abilities. "I suppose if you must have some other reason you could say there're some people I don't feel like dealing with right now back home."

Shinichi blinked, taken aback by the unusually frank answer. "Oh…"

"So are you going to kick me out?" the magician prodded curiously.

Shinichi shifted in his seat a tad uncomfortably as his breath left him in a sigh. "No… Although, knowing you, I doubt I could even if I tried."

"Hey, I'd respect your privacy, if that's what you wanted."

The detective's eyebrows rose in disbelief. A thief? Respecting people's privacy? Maybe it was just him but there seemed to be an innate contradiction there. Especially considering it was coming out of the guy who had just invited himself into Shinichi's house unannounced and seen fit to enter his room and wake him by blowing in his ear. It didn't seem worth arguing though.

"I suppose we might as well see if we can get an audience with Hakuren-san today then." He paused, staring at the air under KID's floating form. It seemed to be turning blue. What the…

The thief followed his gaze and his face split into an even wider grin. "Cool huh? I can make them change color as well as shape and size now." In moments KID appeared to be sitting on a large, blue bench. "I'm working on getting it to show texture."

Shinichi stared a moment longer, noting how the bench looked unnaturally smooth and unreflective, before forcibly tearing his eyes away. "Oh great, just what we needed. You with more tricks."

"Can't let you lot get too comfortable now can I?"

"I doubt that's something you have to worry about."

"Why thank you." KID bowed as best he could while sitting down. "I assume we'll be going out then."

"I am. What you do is up to you," Shinichi replied, draining the last drops of coffee from his mug and standing up.

KID's peculiar bench disappeared as the magician hopped lightly to his feet. There was a puff of yellow smoke and there was now a tall, chestnut-haired teenager in sunglasses and a poker card patterned T-shirt standing in the library. The detective eyed the thief's new ensemble with only the barest hint of surprise before continuing towards the door. KID followed after him, idly beginning to juggle a handful of colorful balls.

"Really though," he remarked, watching Shinichi rinse out his mug and put it in the sink, "do you honestly find the idea of me coming here just to spend time with you that strange?"

"Considering that we are total strangers, yes."

"But are we?"

Shinichi frowned at the cryptic question. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Perhaps we know more about each other than you think."

"You do realize that that doesn't make any sense."

"And why can't it?"

Shinichi sighed. Why was the thief being so persistent about this? "Well, first off, you have to spend time with someone in order to really know them."

"Which is what we're doing now," KID pointed out, sounding far too reasonable.

"Says the man wearing a mask." Shinichi paused, waiting for KID to say something, but the thief remained silent. As the seconds drew by he began to grow uneasy with the thief's odd lack of response. "KID?"

The thief glanced around to find the detective watching him with anxious eyes. He hid a smile behind his hand as he adjusted his sunglasses. "Shall we get going?"

X

"So, where exactly are we headed?" KID inquired as he followed the detective through the streets of Beika with his hands folded behind his head.

"The police station. I want to talk to Satou-keiji."

"Hm, sounds interesting."

Shinichi cast a glance at the thief to see if he was serious. He couldn't tell. Knowing KID, he probably did find it interesting. Taunting the police did seem to be one of his favorite pastimes. In which case walking around right under their noses and not being noticed would probably be very amusing indeed.

KID watched the assortment of expressions flash across the detective's face and wondered what he was thinking. He was caught by surprise when the detective's eyes slid past him and suddenly lit up like a child spotting the proverbial candy store. Then Shinichi was making a beeline past him and he turned to see the other teen with his face close to the window of a bookstore display case.

"Uh, Shinichi?"

The detective glanced back at him, still looking excited. "Sorry, could you just wait a few moments? I'll be right back." That said, he disappeared into the bookstore faster than he'd moved all morning.

KID raised an eyebrow at the now vacated space before the display where the detective had been standing moments ago. Stepping forward, he looked down at the display to see an array of the store's newest merchandise. Bemused, he turned and walked into the store after his wayward companion. He found Shinichi buzzing around the new release shelves. He was already holding two books and in the process of pulling a third off one of the higher shelves. He had to stand on his tiptoes to reach it and Kaito held back a laugh. It reminded him of how Conan had always been climbing around everywhere. It was undoubtedly funnier with him a teenager again.

He stepped up behind Shinichi and peered over his shoulder at the books in his hand. "Ah, that last one's by those two new authors right? The brother and sister?"

Shinichi jumped at the voice speaking out so suddenly right behind him but relaxed when he saw who it was. "Yeah, the Mitsukis. They're new on the writing scene but their work is already getting a lot of attention from critics all over Japan. I've been wanting to give it a try."

"And the others?"

"They're part of a series I've been following," Shinichi explained, sounding truly cheerful for the first time Kaito could remember hearing in a while. He went on to describe said series and its various virtues and vices, including specific scenes he found particularly memorable or details he felt could have been better. It was astonishing how much thought he obviously put into thinking about these things, the magician mused. It was funny and kind of endearing. It was also good to see that the detective had some things he could get that excited about.

Shinichi had just finished checking out when someone screamed. His head snapped around in the direction of the voice instantly and he was off, accidentally dropping his bag. Kaito caught it before it could hit the ground and made it vanish before running after the detective. The sounds of panic led them to the back of the bookstore—where they could see right out into the street on the other side because someone had knocked a huge, gaping hole in the wall. There were three teenagers at the center of the confusion, all of them staring at the hole like it was the maw of a monster ready to swallow them whole.

Shinichi was a little surprised that there was no body, but he focused immediately on the teens. "What happened?"

The nearest—a boy about sixteen or so in years—turned to gaze at him with eyes so wide they looked like they might actually pop out of his head. "S—Sakura—she just—it was like something out of a science fiction movie!"

"Don't say that!" the girl to his right snapped, rounding on him in a sudden rage. "It was horrible! We have to go after her!"

"Go after her!" the second boy in the group exclaimed, leveling a shaking hand at the hole in the wall. "After she did _that_? Are you crazy?"

"You were the one who upset her!" the girl exploded. "So you more than any of us should be going after her!"

"H—hey, I didn't mean to upset her. I mean, how was I supposed to know that that was her mother's last painting? No one ever told me…"

"Excuse me," Shinichi interjected, finally getting the three's attention. "But could one of you explain what happened here?"

"It—it was Sakura," the girl started, looking again at the wall. "We were all looking at the paintings in this book," she held up a book of recent artworks, "when this idiot here insulted one of Sakura's mother's paintings—"

"I told you already I didn't know! I didn't even know her mother painted!"

"—Her mother recently passed away so it was understandably upsetting for her. But when she got upset she—she just—started smoking and went right through the wall!"

Both Shinichi and KID looked to the huge hole in the wall, noting the way its edges were irregularly shaped but smooth. It looked like something had eaten right through it. Something like acid.

"Call the police and an ambulance," Shinichi instructed the stunned teens before running through the hole in the wall and out onto the street closely followed by KID. The runaway girl's trail wasn't hard to follow. She had left melted patches all along the street along with a trail of pointing, staring, and occasionally screaming bystanders. Shinichi noted with horror however that the trail of smoking cement was headed straight into one of the area's shopping districts. He picked up his pace. The street was growing more and more crowded and almost everyone seemed to be panicking now.

Squeezing past the last ring of spectators, Shinichi found himself standing on the edge of a stretch of street that had been completely cleared of both people and vehicles. The reason was stumbling along the middle of it because every step she took sank into the ground beneath her. No one seemed to want to get too close to her.

Shinichi slowed his pace and approached her with cautious steps. "Sakura-san?"

The girl's head jerked around towards him at the sound of her name. Her eyes were wide but he wasn't sure if she was seeing him or not.

"I—don't know what's happening…! Somebody—help me! M—make it stop!" She lurched towards him, her eyes overflowing with terror as she reached out in a pleading gesture, her mouth opening and closing with broken words and sobs. His instinctual reaction was to catch her hand and steady her—try to calm her down, but when he made to do so his hand met an invisible barrier.

She lurched into that same barrier and slid down it as she covered her face. The ground beneath her immediately began to smolder and melt away.

KID appeared beside him, expression unnaturally grim. "Think first before you move Detective, she would've taken your hand right off."

"We have to do _something_!" Shinichi exclaimed, torn between horror at the sight before him and frustration at his own inability to do anything about it.

KID looked down at the girl inside the force field he'd erected. She was clutching at her own arms as her mouth worked in silent sobs. Smoke began to rise from everything her tears touched. Soon she'd melt a hole right through the street and fall into the sewers below. Shinichi was right. They had to do something, but what? Find some bases to pour on her? But it looked like her entire body was taking on acidic attributes. Dousing her with bases probably had just as much of a chance of killing her as helping her. They couldn't take that kind of risk.

Shinichi had crouched down to begin trying to talk to the poor girl, probably hoping that her transformation might reverse if she calmed. A lot of the changes they'd seen did, after all, seem to have a tendency to come and go. Kaito focused on his barrier and adjusted it to allow sound through, glad that he had been practicing.

"—ything's burning!" The girl's voice was shaking and thin, almost inaudible either from some effect of her transformation or simply out of terror. "E—everything's burning…"

"Sakura-san," Shinichi called again, trying in vain to get her attention. "You need to try and calm down. We want to help you. Sakura-san?"

But the girl was deaf to everything else. She just continued to hug herself as though cold yet her continued, panicked whispering was all about burning. The tone of her voice was growing more and more pained by the second.

"The police are here," KID murmured, leaning down and placing a hand on Shinichi's shoulder.

Strange as the situation was, the police had their hands full calming the frightened masses and herding them out of the area. A few officers detached themselves from these to approach the source of the commotion.

"Kudo-kun?" Satou-keiji inquired, coming up beside him, her eyes glued to the still crying girl. "Is she…?"

"Her name is Sakura and I think we need to get her to a hospital," he said quickly, glancing up at her. "She says she feels like everything is burning. I've been trying to talk to her but she's not listening. If we don't hurry she's going to go right through the street."

"But how're we supposed to move her?"

Shinichi glanced again at the slowly disintegrating street. "Is there some way we could get a really large glass tray or tank with wheels? We should also contact her father. There are some teenagers in the bookstore back up the street that should know how."

"Right." Satou turned and began dishing out instructions to her coworkers, most of whom were still staring in a state of shock. The ambulance had arrived, but everyone could see that the stretcher was useless.

Instead several officers were dispatched to a nearby pet store where they got the biggest fish tank they could find as well as a wheeled trolley to move it on.

"Miss," Satou said gently as she crouched down beside the hole in which Sakura was still huddled. "Please, we're going to take you to a doctor, but to do that we'll need your cooperation."

The word 'doctor' finally seemed to catch the girl's attention and she turned blurry eyes on the policewoman. "A d-doctor?"

Satou nodded. "Yes. But to do that we need you to sit in this." She pointed to the glass tank. "We believe we can move you safely with that since it's made out of glass."

With some more coaxing from both Satou and Shinichi, the girl finally unwound enough to struggle out of the hole in the street and climb into the fish tank. Once there she sat down and curled into herself. Everyone waited for a second to make sure she wasn't going to melt through the bottom of the tank. Once they were sure, they began to roll the tank carefully up into the ambulance. It wasn't until the ambulance had departed that Shinichi realized KID had disappeared.

"Are you looking for someone?" Satou asked curiously.

Shinichi stopped scanning their surroundings and laughed a bit nervously. "No—well, actually, I was hoping I could speak with you."

Satou glanced after the departing ambulance then back at him. "I need to report in about this, but I should be able to spare some time." She lowered her voice. "Is it about…?"

He nodded. "I was hoping you might be able to provide me with a little more information about Hakuren Naomi."

"That would depend on what kind of information you were thinking about."

"A phone number? Maybe an office I might be able to call to request a meeting?"

"Well…she did spend the last few years teaching at a university. I could give you their information and you can see if they'll put you in touch. I didn't have much luck myself, but they might be less edgy with someone who isn't part of the police."

"That would be great. Thanks."

She produced a notebook and scribbled several lines from memory before tearing out the page and handing it to him. "I've got to get going. Let me know if you find anything, all right:?"

X

Inspector Megure was not in a good mood. Not only was one of his officers still missing, but now this?

"So what you're saying is that some teenager melted great holes in a bookstore wall and all along the length of a paved street just by walking over it?"

"Yes Sir," one of the handful of officers gathered in his office replied, looking nervous but determined. "I know it sounds impossible but we have dozens of eyewitnesses and, well…we all saw it with our own eyes…"

"Where's the girl now?"

"At the local hospital Sir. But so far they haven't been able to help her."

The inspector let out an irritated huff. "Fine, say I believe you. Would someone like to explain to me how any of this is even possible?"

No one answered.

Finally it was Satou who cleared her throat. "Actually, Sir, it has come to my attention that—" She cut herself off as the door to the office opened. Her eyes widened.

"Megure-keibu?"

The inspector too froze at the sound of that hesitant call. That voice—he hadn't heard that voice in weeks, but even so he knew who it was instantly. He spun towards the door.

"Takagi! Where the hell have you been…" He trailed off as his mouth fell open and his eyes grew round. Because there, standing in his office doorway, was the formerly missing Takagi Wataru—or his ghost at any rate, as everyone in the office could see right through him.

"T—Takagi-kun?" he stammered, unable to tear his eyes away from the transparent policeman.

An expression of abject relief washed over the ghost's face. "So you can see me?"

**TBC**

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><p><strong>A.N<strong>: **I have to bid you all a temporary farewell** as I am going to be busy moving. I'm not sure when everything's going to be settled, but I'll see you all again then. Thanks for reading!


	10. Blossoming Lights

**A.N**: I'm back~! Er, sort of anyway. Things are still a mess. And here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

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><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

10: Blossoming Lights

"So…" Megure said slowly as he gazed across his desk at Satou and the still transparent Takagi. Seeing the latter was still giving him the heebie-jeebies. "You're telling me that you've been…invisible, inaudible, and altogether insubstantial all this time we thought you were missing?"

"It's true," Takagi replied, looking down at his translucent hands with troubled eyes. "But Kudo-kun mentioned that it might be possible for me to reverse it, and that's what I've spent the last several days doing. I haven't quite got it right though, as you can see…"

Satou reached over and placed a comforting hand on his arm. "Hey, at least we can talk to you now. And it looks like you can move things too."

"Yeah…" He smiled sheepishly and both other occupants of the room could have sworn he grew a little more opaque.

"Hold on a second," the inspector said suddenly. "You talked to Kudo-kun about this?"

"It was after that incident with the woman with the steel nails," Satou-keiji explained. "He said he's already seen several similar cases."

Megure frowned. "Similar how?"

The two officers across from him traded glances. Megure waited patiently until finally they returned their attention to him and began to tell what was turning out to be one of the strangest stories he'd heard in his career. And that was saying something considering all the weird cases that kept cropping up around Mouri Kogoro and, when he was around, Kudo Shinichi. He was going to need some coffee for this.

X

Shinichi let out a breath he hadn't been aware of holding as he closed his cell phone and set it on the table in front of him

KID glanced up from his chocolate cream pie at the sound. "So? Any luck?"

"They say Hakuren-san's been on sabbatical for the last few months so she isn't home and apparently she hasn't been answering calls. They did give me an email address though. It seems it's the only form of communication she's been responding to. And even then she tends to be slow about it. They said sometimes she doesn't answer anything for weeks before answering them all at once. But, from what they told me, she's always been like that."

"That's weird."

"Tell me about it… Anyway, they said we might be able to schedule an appointment with her that way. 'Might' being the key word there."

"So they don't know where she went on her sabbatical?"

"Her studies apparently take her to several different countries on a regular basis. Lately she's been all over the Americas, China, and even Australia. They believe her last stop was somewhere in Asia, but that's about as clear as they could get. They seem to believe that her sporadic response habits are linked to her traveling schedule."

"I've never heard of her though."

"Neither have I," Shinichi admitted, frowning. "It's odd though. It doesn't make sense for a university professor neither of us has ever heard of to have enough money to fund the building of an entire wing of that museum. Especially not one with so much high tech equipment."

"Perhaps she came from a wealthy background," KID suggested.

"Or the money's coming from some other venture."

"Hm, I must say, she sounds like one interesting woman."

Shinichi snorted. "That she does. As it is, it looks like the only way we're going to meet her is to try requesting a meeting by email. And just hope it really is her on the other end."

"Sounds unreliable."

Shinichi sighed, picking up his neglected coffee. "It could be better, but it could also be worse."

"Don't jinx it Tantei-kun," the thief admonished, waving a finger at him. "So did you have any plans for the rest of the day?"

"Do the rest of my homework, probably."

KID pulled a face. "But that's just boring."

"I didn't say it was fascinating," Shinichi retorted. "Doesn't mean it doesn't have to be done."

"But it's Saturday!"

'Which is precisely why I have lots of free time. Provided I don't run into a case on my way home and the police don't call me."

"Ever the logical one, aren't you? But you know, everyone needs a break now and then."

"I'm here, aren't I?" Shinichi looked pointedly at the pie on his own plate then around at the little bakery café they were seated in.

KID waved his hand dismissively. "Considering what you were just up to, I'd call this a working lunch."

"So what are you suggesting then?" Shinichi asked dryly.

"Take the day off and do the work tomorrow," the thief answered promptly. "It's not going anywhere after all."

"I already agreed to meet Ran tomorrow."

KID paused for the briefest of moments and Shinichi wondered if he'd just imagined it. "Ah yes, the girlfriend. I haven't seen her around much lately."

"She's not my girlfriend—I wish you people would stop making assumptions—and she hasn't been around because we haven't been talking." The detective glanced pensively into his coffee cup. "At this point I'm not even sure we're friends anymore."

"…That bad huh?"

"I don't know anymore," Shinichi replied after a long moment of silence. And it seemed to the magician like he was talking more to himself than to Kaito. "We've been like family so long I guess I just thought…" that she'd forgive him. That she'd understand and that all of the lies would blow away like so much dust on the wind.

"We all make sacrifices for the choices we make. Even if no one else understands."

Shinichi looked up at the thief's unusually solemn words only to find the thief looking out the widow towards the sky with a slightly melancholy expression that seemed odd on his face.

"KID?" he asked hesitantly. It was odd seeing such an open expression on the thief's face. But at the same time it was kind of touching too that the thief trusted him enough to let his mask slip for even that small moment. Or perhaps it was all in his head.

KID turned back to look at him with a wry quirk to his lips. "But we do the best we can with what we have. So how about a compromise? You come with me to that chocolate sculpting demonstration they're having at that big candy store we saw on our way here and I promise I'll have you home right after dinnertime so you have a few hours to spend with that work you keep going on about?"

Shinichi blinked at the sudden change in topic back to the matter of the day's plans. Then he looked from the expectant thief to his empty plate and back again. "You want _more_ chocolate?"

The thief chuckled. "It's a demo, not a taste test. I doubt they want people eating their exhibits. Chocolate sculpting is actually considered a form of art you know."

"I have heard something of the sort before," Shinichi admitted. "Although I can't say it's something I've ever looked into." Well, he supposed there had been that one trip to the bakery with the candy animals, but what he remembered best about the trip was the murder case. Everything else was a bit hazy. Come to think of it, what he remembered best about most places he went were the murders. He wondered idly what that said about his life.

"So it'll be educational too. Sounds like a plan to me."

The detective gave him a mildly amused if slightly exasperated look. "You don't let up, do you?"

"Nope," the magician agreed cheerfully. "I consider it one of my virtues. So is that a yes or do you need more persuading?"

Shinichi looked down at his now empty cup, turning the idea over in his head. "I…guess it wouldn't hurt." It wasn't as tough he really felt like doing homework, and he'd finished enough of it last night that he shouldn't need more than another one or two hours to finish the rest. He'd originally planned on reading a book in the free time that would leave him but, well… If he was to be totally honest he didn't really want to say goodbye to the thief yet either. He'd already spent so much time by himself after all.

X

"Uh…Kazuha?"

Eyes which had been staring up into the flawless stretch of the evening sky drew themselves reluctantly away to focus on the source of that hesitant call. "What is it Heiji?"

"Well…" The dark-skinned boy in question glanced uneasily down at his own feet for a moment as he tried to find the right words. "I've…been meaning to ask you something."

"Yeah?" Kazuha prompted, beginning to frown. As far as she could remember Heiji was just about never hesitant. If anything he had a hard time not rushing into things. "Go on."

"It's just…have you noticed anything…strange?"

She tilted her head to one side in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well, uh…"

For some reason, she noted, he was looking down at her feet. Was there something wrong with them? She followed his gaze but her feet looked fine to her.

"It's just that…" He started again, stopped, then let out a frustrated breath and stopped walking. Kazuha followed suit, turning to face him. "Kazuha, I saw—earlier you were… Kazuha, I know this probably sounds crazy, but I could've sworn I saw you floating earlier."

She stared at him. Of all the things he could have said, that was definitely not what she'd expected. Not even close. "Heiji, are you sick?"

"No! I'm not sick—at least I don't think I'm sick." He stopped abruptly, frowned, then started again much more quietly. "I'm not joking Kazuha. It was when you were walking down to the lake to get a boat. You were running but your feet didn't touch the ground. I checked the ground afterward and I'm sure. It was soft but there weren't any prints."

"But…that's not possible. I mean, I can't do that kind of thing, you know that."

"I know, but I also know what I saw."

Kazuha looked down again at her own feet, now planted on the sidewalk where she'd stopped. They were clearly on the ground. And she could feel the solidity of the street through the soles of her shoes. And yet, when she thought back…when she thought back about it she remembered how light she had felt back by the lake. Closing her eyes she could remember the wind all around her and the way she had felt like she could just…could just… Well, to be honest she'd been thinking 'fly', but not literally. Just in a figurative sense.

"Kazuha?"

Opening her eyes, she looked up at Heiji's worried face and laughed. "Oh come on Heiji, detectives shouldn't start imagining weird things like that. I'm sure you're just tired."

Heiji didn't look convinced but he dropped the subject for the time being. After all, he didn't have any real proof that he'd seen what he thought he'd seen aside from the barely touched ground. But if there was anything to find, he'd find it.

X

Shinichi had to admit that the demonstration was interesting. He'd heard of chocolate art before and seen some pictures, but it wasn't quite the same as seeing it being made in person. And the team doing the demo had decided to go in for a real masterpiece too—an elegant, Chinese dragon nearly two meters in length with intricately patterned scales. If he hadn't seen it being made, he might have had doubts about it being entirely made out of chocolate. There were other pieces on display too for anyone who tired of watching the dragon being born in the center of the candy store. At the end of the event everyone who had attended was given a small, chocolate swan to take away with them.

"It kind of looks too good to eat," Shinichi commented as he held the bird up to the evening light. Its white chocolate wings almost seemed to glow as the evening sunlight shone through them.

"You could hang on to it for a while until you change your mind," KID replied, making his own chocolate bird disappear with a flick of his wrist. "Although you might not want to keep holding it like that or it's going to melt."

Shinichi quickly lowered the little, plastic box the swan had come in and tucked it back inside the paper bag that the candy store had handed out for people to carry their keepsakes in. He wasn't really one for souvenirs, but it truly was a beautifully crafted piece of work. No point being careless with it.

He turned his steps towards home as his mind drifted, organizing the assignments he still had to complete into a list by order of importance. Halfway there he was dragged into a Chinese restaurant by KID who reminded him that he'd agreed to having dinner before going home. He was beginning to think that the thief did in fact have too much time on his hands.

They were on their way out when someone pushed open the door they were just about to go through and nearly ran right into Shinichi. He stumbled back a step and reached out automatically to help steady the newcomer.

"I'm sorry," the person said quickly before looking up.

Shinichi blinked in surprise. "Sonoko?"

"Oh, it's you," the girl said, straightening and looking Shinichi over with the disapproval that she seemed to reserve just for him these days. She'd been mad at him ever since the situation between him and Ran had soured. Though she didn't know what exactly had happened or what the problem was, she had decided that it had to be his fault. Now she rarely spoke to him (something he didn't entirely lament). At the moment she was looking him over like something she'd found stuck to the bottom of her shoe. "What are _you_ doing here? Don't tell me someone died in there."

Shinichi grimaced inwardly. "No, no one died here. Or at least not in the last hour," he clarified a bit self consciously. After all, he couldn't say for sure that no one had _ever_ died in the establishment before. All considered, people could—very literally—die anywhere.

"Huh, that's unusual. I didn't think you went places unless there were dead people anymore. Well, if you'll excuse me, I have a reservation to get to."

That said she stepped around him and disappeared into the restaurant without a backward glance. Mildly relieved by her departure, Shinichi headed outside.

"I never realized Suzuki-san was such a grouch," KID remarked, falling into step beside him.

"She isn't," Shinichi replied. "She just holds grudges. You know, she's a huge KID fan," he added, steering the topic to something less unpleasant and hoping the thief would go along with it. "She would probably pass out if she found out you were there and she missed her chance to meet you."

"Well, what can I say? I do have a lot of fans."

The conversation shifted to lighter things with that. Shinichi wasn't sure how but they wound up engaged in a rather heated debate regarding how the skills of certain fictional characters (a.k.a. Holmes and Lupin) would translate were they to be transplanted into a modern setting. They were so engrossed in their discussion that they almost walked right by Shinichi's house (maybe he just wasn't used to it being home anymore?) but the magician noticed just in time to rescue them from having to double back.

"We should do this again," the thief remarked as he followed Shinichi up the path to the front door. "Oh yeah, I believe this is yours." He snapped his fingers. There was a puff of blue smoke and a bag with the bookstore logo on it appeared in his hand. "You dropped this earlier. I've been hanging onto it for you."

"Oh, uh, thanks." Shinichi accepted the bag a bit sheepishly. He'd completely forgotten that he'd even bought books. "You've certainly used a lot of colors today. Are you color coding now?"

KID paused for a moment. "Pardon?"

"The smoke bombs."

"Oh, that." He laughed. "No, but it's fun figuring out what kinds of chemicals to use to get which colors. And you'd be surprised how many other interesting things you can get them to do. Oh, and seasonal colors add nicely to the atmosphere when appropriate."

"But the sleeping gas is usually pink."

"Yup. Old man Nakamori seems to find it offensive for some reason." The grin on the thief's face was decidedly wicked now.

Shinichi watched the thief for a moment, wondering what schemes were cooking up there in that corkscrew mind. No doubt it was either a memory of some poor officers' fate at his hands or something he planned on inflicting in the future upon his unsuspecting task force. Deciding it was safer not to speculate too hard about the matter, Shinichi cleared his throat to catch the thief's attention.

"You should probably get going."

"Aw, I thought we were getting along. And here you ate trying to get rid of me."

Shinichi rolled his eyes. "I'm not, but you promised to give me time to do my work. Remember?"

"That's true." The magician heaved an exaggerated sigh. "I suppose I had better leave you be then."

Shinichi bid the thief farewell and made to open his front door only to be stopped by a hand on his shoulder.

"One more thing."

Wondering what the thief wanted now, Shinichi turned back to face him. "What is it?"

The thief leaned forward abruptly, invading Shinichi's personal space so that they were practically touching noses and making the detective go cross-eyed (he would have stepped back if he wasn't already right in front of the door). "What I said before about coming here because I like you? I wasn't kidding."

That said he placed a teasing kiss on the startled detective's nose before disappearing in a cloud of white smoke.

X

Kaito wasn't particularly prone to second guessing himself. Even so he kept replaying that goodbye through his head all the way to the train station. He had not intended to do that. But he didn't particularly regret it either. If anything what he'd wanted to do was a little bit different—which told him he had to reevaluate a few things. Again. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately in regards to Shinichi.

He'd hung around a little after officially taking his leave and watched the detective stare in shock at nothing for a few moments as his face turned pink. Eventually he'd shaken his head, muttering something that sounded like 'he gets weirder every day', then retreated back into his house. So at least his actions hadn't had any adverse effects (although how easily the detective could chalk his actions up to just being weird might be a problem).

Life sure could get complicated at times when you were a phantom thief. Then again, if it didn't, it wouldn't be half as interesting.

X

Pale eyes gleamed in the depths of a windowless room, their gaze fixed on the inky reaches overhead.

"So have you found another one?"

The eyes blinked slowly. "I think so. But what about the other one? You didn't go to that one."

"Not yet, but all in due time. Now, where to?"

**TBC**

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><p><strong>A.N<strong>: And there it is. As for why Shinichi sometimes feels sick, that'll come up later. Feel free to let me know if you find a typo, I'll try to fix them when I have time, which might not be soon but yeah... The next part should be up on one or two weeks, barring any unexpected problems. Thanks for reading!

**P.S**. To Shimizu Hikaru, thanks for the link ^^


	11. Hold it Close

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

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><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

11: Hold it Close

Having no idea whatsoever of what to expect from his rapidly approaching meeting with Ran was, Shinichi thought, a great deal more unsettling than he had thought it would be. After all, it wasn't like things could get all that much worse. The thought didn't help. He'd spent some time pacing in his library before he noticed he was leaving frosty footprints. He was also starting to feel like he needed a jacket. He sat down rather quickly after that and decided to read a book. That managed to hold his attention but it held a little too well and by the time he remembered to check the clock he realized that he was supposed to have been at the park five minutes ago. He _knew_ he shouldn't have picked up one of the new books!

Leaping from his chair, he'd bolted out of the house and sprinted all the way to Beika Park. He was a fast runner, but no amount of speed was going to reverse time and stop him from being late.

Skidding into the park, he made a beeline for the nice, shady area where most of the benches were, eyes already scanning for signs of Ran. He half expected to find that she'd already left so he couldn't suppress the breath of relief as he found her on the bench farthest away from him. She was focused on her phone and appeared to be texting.

"Ran!" he called out as he sprinted the last few yards to the bench. "I'm so sorry. I lost track of time…"

She glanced up at him, her expression neutral, and nodded as she sent her last message and put away her phone. "It's all right. It hasn't been that long."

There was an awkward moment of silence during which Ran looked down at her hands and Shinichi tried not to fidget. Finally he sat down on the other end of the bench.

"Um, so…what did you want to talk about?" he asked.

Ran glanced briefly at him then up at the sky before going back to the contemplation of her hands. "I…wanted to tell you that I'm not angry."

Shinichi looked up at her in surprise. "You're not?"

She shook her head slowly. "I was, at first, but I'm not anymore, and I just thought I should tell you that."

"Oh…" The detective shifted uncomfortably in his seat on the bench. "I… I'm glad to hear that."

"But there's something I've been wanting to ask you." Her voice grew firmer, more determined. It sent a tingle of unease through the already tense detective.

"What is it?" he asked anyway.

"All those times I confronted you about being—being you. Why didn't you just tell me? You _knew_ how worried I was. So how? How could you just stand there and act like nothing was happening?"

"I… Ran, I already told you, I—didn't want you to get involved. It was too dangerous."

"But you let Hattori-kun and Doctor Agasa get involved."

"I—you know Hattori, he would've gotten involved whether I wanted him to or not."

"That's not the point Shinichi," she said flatly, her gaze sharp and her mouth pressed into a thin line. "The point is that you did tell some people and you did let some people get involved. And frankly my dad and I were involved anyway just by you choosing to live with us, so why didn't you tell me?"

"I…it was just…" He grimaced slightly. What was he supposed to say? It had all made perfect sense back then, but what Ran was saying now was true too. Both Mouris had automatically been involved when he chose to stay with them. And they had certainly seen more than their fair share of danger because of it.

On the other end of the bench, Ran let out a sigh and stood up, turning to look at him with an expression he couldn't quite place. Disappointment? "So basically you didn't trust me."

"What? No! It wasn't like that…" He stopped when she held up a hand.

"You know, Shinichi, you can't ask someone to believe in you unless you believe in them first. We're supposed to be friends, but friends trust each other. It's not about whether you can deal with it on your own or not. It's about trusting your friends enough to believe you can rely on them. Even when you don't need to."

"Ran…I—"

"I don't want to hear it Shinichi. I have to go now or I'm going to be late, but I hope you at least think about what I said."

He watched her walk away with the strangest sensation. And he realized suddenly that they were all leaving him behind. Then again, he couldn't reasonably expect the world to have waited for him while he solved his problems with the Organization and being shrunk. Time had to pass and things had to change.

He just hadn't thought that, when he finally made it home, what he would be saying most would be goodbye.

But, well, it was a good thing that Ran had apparently moved on. He couldn't be the person she wanted him to be after all. He didn't want her to end up waiting forever for someone who would never be back. Still, knowing the logic of it all didn't make the hollow feeling go away. He didn't _want_ to say goodbye just like that. Like everything was over. He still valued the friendship they had had, and he'd hoped that they could repair it—if not right away then at least over time. But it seemed as though he may have been being too optimistic.

And yet even though everyone else had moved on, Kudo Shinichi had been standing still while he ran around as a little kid trying to clean up his mistakes. He couldn't just erase the years and make everything the way it had been. And he couldn't really make up the years either. Couldn't fast-forward through time he didn't have.

He'd have to rebuild his life from the ground up and the thought… Just thinking about it made him feel tired. And, like everything else he'd been doing for the last few years, he'd have to do it by himself. No one could do it for him and there was no one to go to for help even if he could figure out how to ask for it. Then again, he supposed that was all part of what Ran had been saying. There wasn't anyone to turn to because he'd purposefully made sure to keep them all at a distance. Had it really all been a mistake?

X

Kaito had gotten up early that morning and spent a relaxing few hours running his doves through various training exercises. Aoko had showed up to say hello a little before noon sans Hakuba and had brunch with the Kurobas. It had felt almost like old times again before he'd started collecting secrets and they'd started drifting apart. But perhaps that didn't actually change anything, he mused, or at least not anything that really mattered. They were still, in essence, the people they'd always been underneath the changes.

He was in a rather good mood when he decided to hop on the train and head over to Beika. He wasn't really planning on anything in particular. He just thought he'd swing by and see what Shinichi was up to. There were also a few new exhibits in the Beika art museum he wanted to take a look at. His plans were put on the shelf however when he was greeted by a shocking scene as he rounded the corner a few streets from the train station.

There was snow and ice everywhere. It was heaped on the streets and weighing down the branches of nearby trees. All the windows he could see had frosted over and the occasional icicle hung from building ledges. Traffic had all but completely stopped and people were getting out of their cars to gape in shock at the scene. As Kaito drew closer, he could feel the way the air grew cold. An icy wind was beginning to pick up.

"No one can get through!" one of the more adventurous souls who'd crept forward to try and see what things were like up ahead reported to the milling crowd.

"What's going on here?" he asked one of the many gaping onlookers.

The man shook his head. "I have no idea. One moment it's a warm, sunny day, then suddenly this just—happened. It's like it came out of nowhere!" By the end of his attempted explanation the man had to shout to be heard over the howl of the storm. The sky had gone dark and now everyone was abandoning their vehicles and making a run for shelter.

Kaito however turned and began walking the other way, putting up a barrier around himself and adjusting its shape to make it easier to press through the storm. He had a feeling he knew where—or rather who—the strange weather phenomenon was originating from.

The center of the unnatural storm was Beika Park. Wishing he'd thought to bring a jacket, Kaito made his way slowly through the mounting snow drifts. He had no idea where he was supposed to look. All he could do was move towards the direction in which the cold grew stronger.

When a bench loomed out of the shifting veils of white, he peered hopefully over the back only to find it deserted. Oh well. He was about to walk past it when he noticed something dark on the ground in front of the bench. Rounding one end of the wooden structure, he expanded his barrier to push the snow back and get a better look.

"Shinichi!" he called, dropping to his knees beside the detective's unmoving form. Outside of his force field the snowstorm continued to rage, but inside the air was calm and still. It almost seemed a little warmer too, though his breath was still misting slightly before his face with every exhale. "What happened? Are you hurt?"

There was no response. It didn't even look as though the detective had heard him. Reaching out, he placed a hand on the other's arm. It was cold to the touch—unnaturally so, though his pulse was normal. Was it a side effect? Shinichi's body temperature had been a bit lower than normal lately, but certainly not by this much. And he was shivering.

Frowning, Kaito leaned over and carefully pulled the detective out of the snow he'd been half buried in. Shifting into a sitting position himself, he gathered the detective into his lap and began to rub at his cold hands to try and get some warmth into them. He was rewarded with an almost inaudible groan as blue eyes opened a fraction.

"Shinichi?"

The detective blinked. He seemed to be having a hard time focusing. "Who…?"

"It's me."

Shinichi's brows furrowed as he struggled to place the voice. "KID?"

"That's right. Do you remember what happened?"

The detective's frown deepened as his eyes grew clearer. "I…was talking to Ran…"

"And then?" Kaito prompted when he didn't continue. He waited patiently as Shinichi's gaze grew distant again. His patience paid off when the detective finally began to recap the day's earlier events. The words came out halting and broken but the magician was able to piece most of it together—including the bits Shinichi didn't say.

"Have you been here ever since?" he asked when Shinichi trailed off completely.

Shinichi nodded slowly, not looking at him. He was shivering again. Kaito wasn't sure if it was because of the cold or his thoughts.

"It's all right," he murmured, running his fingers gently through Shinichi's soft, black hair as he held the smaller boy close.

"What did I do wrong?" The question emerged sounding more than a little bitter.

"Nothing," the magician said firmly. "Sometimes…sometimes all we can believe is that the choices we made were right when we made them. No one can know what might have been different, Shinichi. For all you know, if you'd done anything else everyone could be dead now. Instead they're here, you're here, I'm here—that's worth something, isn't it?"

Shinichi looked up into the thief's deep, indigo eyes, for once completely open and earnest, and he found he couldn't look away. Nor did he want to. Though the corners of his vision were beginning to blur.

"Yes, yes it is," he rasped, voice a little shaky and almost inaudible.

Kaito wasn't sure how long they stayed there, but he could see the storm gradually dying away. When it had subsided completely he dropped his barrier and shifted to pull them both to their feet.

"Come on. I think we've stayed here long enough."

"Yeah." Shinichi sighed, starting to feel a bit embarrassed about his own behavior. He peered hesitantly at the thief, wondering what he was thinking. It was only then that he realized exactly what he was seeing. Before him stood a teenage boy who stood slightly taller than he did beneath a wild mop of brown hair. Despite the differences, this person's face bore an unusual degree of resemblance to his own. It was…kind of creepy actually, like looking into a funhouse mirror.

He stared. He knew already that KID's own features must be similar to his own, but then that meant that this was the thief's own face. "You—why did you—"

Kaito gave him a puzzled look before he remembered that he hadn't bothered with a disguise (partly because he hadn't intended to actually be seen and partly because he'd been thinking about introducing himself anyway). Never one to be daunted, he swept into a deep, showman's bow. "Kuroba Kaito, at your service!"

"Are you mad?" Shinichi demanded. "You just—you shouldn't be—" Apparently unable to put the insanity into words, he waved a hand at the thief in a general attempt to indicate all that was wrong.

All he got for his troubles was a laugh (although Shinichi thought he might have seen something else in the thief's eyes—something sharp and very focused). "I wouldn't say so. Friends can't hide their faces from each other forever, right? You said it yourself."

Shinichi blinked. Had he said that? He couldn't remember saying it, although he might have said a few things that could be construed as meaning it. Hold on, the thief had just referred to them as friends… Then again, he supposed, they were something of the sort. He certainly felt a lot more comfortable around KID than he did around most anyone else these days. But to hear it spoken out loud just like that… After everything that had happened it brought a lump to his throat that he forced away with an effort.

"I guess so," he said instead, glancing down at his feet then up at the magician with a small smile that might have been a little nervous and a little tired but was real nonetheless. "So…how did you know I was here?"

"Well, you could say the snowstorm gave it away."

Shinichi stared at him for a moment then looked around. His jaw dropped at the endless, heaping masses of white that greeted his searching eyes, stretching away in every direction as far as the eye could see.

"Oh my god…"

"It's not your fault, you know," Kaito said, doing his best to keep the amusement out of his voice.

Shinichi gave him a disbelieving look. "I froze over the entire Beika district!"

The magician rolled his eyes. Way to state the obvious. "You were upset. You couldn't control it. Besides, from what we've seen, it should be gone in no time."

"That's not the point. I shouldn't have lost it like that," the detective muttered, turning back to stare at the winter landscape lying under the summer sky. "It was stupid…and careless."

Kaito watched him for a moment before stepping forward quickly and wrapping his arms carefully around Shinichi from behind. The detective started in surprise at the sudden contact but he didn't pull away. Kaito couldn't stop the smile from spreading across his face. It probably wasn't right of him to be feeling so giddy when Shinichi was obviously upset over the snow coated streets, but he couldn't help it.

Times were changing, and they would be changing for the better if he had anything to say about it (which he would, because he wouldn't allow it to be any other way).

**TBC**

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><p><strong>A.N<strong>: That was a bit harder to write than I expected. Anyhow, see you next time!

**P.S**. I was asked how I decided who had what kinds of powers, and I was thinking about it and it's a rather interesting question because I'm not sure what the answer is either. ^^ I think in most cases it was a combination of what I thought would be interesting/amusing/suitable/useful to the story. For example, I wanted something adaptable with lots of uses for Kaito because it suits his personality. Shinichi on the other hand was actually supposed to have something else at first, but I changed it to what it is now (which isn't actually as straight forward as ice but I know that's what it looks like right now) when I started writing because it suited the story better.


	12. Seeds of Fear

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

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><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

12: Seeds of Fear

Beika's freak snowstorm occupied the news for several days after it happened. Weathermen everywhere were baffled, but since no one could find any answers they eventually chalked it up to be one of those mysteries of nature. It helped that the entire winter landscape had vanished in less than half an hour, leaving almost no signs at all that it had ever been there. The people of Tokyo however weren't so sure. There were several people who had witnessed the storm who also remembered seeing the girl with the acid touch and hushed stories were being passed from ear to ear like wildfire through dry brush. Other stories were beginning to join them. Rumors claimed that five other people had checked themselves into hospitals with strange ailments none of the doctors could fix.

Shinichi himself had been called to the police station by Satou-keiji who had suspected what might have been at the center of the snowstorm. He'd wound up explaining the bare bones of what had happened to the woman, Megure-keibu, and a semi-transparent Takagi-Keiji who had been forbidden from leaving the police station until he was fully opaque lest he start a panic.

"The last thing we need at this point is ghost hunters," Megure had grumbled, looking far more harassed than Shinichi had ever seen him. "First the disappearances and now this."

"Disappearances?" Shinichi repeated questioningly.

Satou nodded. "There's been an unnatural increase in missing persons reports. The division usually in charge of those cases has been stretched so thin that they've asked us to lend a hand."

By the time he left the station he had acquired a rather thick folder full of information on the assorted missing persons. It was disturbing just how hefty that folder was.

He'd walked into his library at home to find Kaito standing on one hand in the middle of the room as he casually flipped through a book with his other hand. Shinichi stared for a moment then went to put the folder on the writing desk. The magician had been inviting himself over practically every day now so seeing him wasn't a surprise. What he was doing however was another story (was this something the magician did for training or had he just gotten bored with standing right side up?). Shinichi had to resist the urge to tell him to be careful.

"You spend an hour with the police and come back with even more work?" the magician asked, giving Shinichi's new load a disbelieving, upside-down look. "You should really tell them to go bug some other detective now and then. I mean, at this rate you're going to be single handedly responsible for all the murder cases in Tokyo pretty soon. Give someone else a chance to hone their skills."

"These aren't murder cases," Shinichi replied, sitting down in an armchair and beginning to look through the papers. "Apparently a lot of people have been reported missing lately."

"When you say a lot…?"

"There are fifteen people on the list they gave me—and these are just the ones Division One's been asked to handle because the division that usually does this kind of work is shorthanded."

"_Fifteen_?" Kaito repeated in disbelief. Doing a neat flip back onto his feet, he came to peer over Shinichi's shoulder at the papers.

"And all reported in the last few weeks," the detective added, frowning.

"I take it that that's not normal."

"No, it isn't." Shinichi thumbed through the papers with a pensive expression on his face before he stood up abruptly. The faces in the photos looked…familiar. "I'm going to go ask around a bit."

Kaito nodded and snapped his fingers. A puff of smoke later he once again had a hat and sunglasses.

"You're coming?" Shinichi asked in surprise, temporarily distracted from the more serious matter at hand. "Shouldn't you be preparing for your next heist? It's tonight, remember?"

The magician snorted. "Of course I remember. How could I be punctual if I go around forgetting about my own heists? But really, I don't need to do anything else, and it sounds like you could use the help." A smile made its way back onto his face. "I do happen to be rather good at getting people to talk to me."

That, Shinichi thought with a touch of sardonic amusement, was certainly true. He'd certainly found himself telling the thief a great deal more than he intended to on multiple occasions. And yet he couldn't bring himself to regret that, even if he sometimes wondered if this qualified as being careless. Then again, they were in the same boat if it came to dangerous secrets. Perhaps that was why it didn't feel as odd as he thought it should for them to be spending so much more time together. Perhaps he wasn't the only one who found comfort in the presence of someone who knew of the various roles he'd had to play and with whom he'd found he didn't feel the need to act any particular way but how he felt. Not that he could really tell what KID was or wasn't thinking.

X

They had talked to eight pairs of concerned parents, five worried siblings, and a lot of neighbors. The one thing that they all seemed to agree on was that the missing people had all shown signs of nervousness and maybe even fear shortly before their disappearances. What had caused these emotions however was anyone's guess, though a lot of people had created theories as people were wont to do in an attempt to explain the situation to themselves if no one else. In some cases they found that the missing people had actually packed before leaving, suggesting they had planned their departure. In others it appeared the person had fled in a great hurry or simply left like nothing had happened only to never return. None of them had been people particularly prone to offending anyone and even Shinichi's suspicious eyes couldn't find any traces of deception in any of the family or friends they spoke to. What really bothered him however was that they had all, every one of them, been at the science museum during KID's heist for one reason or another, which was why they had looked familiar.

And, though the magician didn't say so, Shinichi could tell that it was bothering him too. It was _his_ heist after all that was the connecting point between all the cases they'd examined.

They were passing by the river on their way to the next house when Shinichi caught sight of someone sitting down by the riverbank. She was sitting right on the edge of the cement walkway with her legs dangling over the side.

"That girl—she's one of the teenagers who was reported missing just yesterday. The one that left two days ago to go to school but never made it." They had seen her parents earlier that afternoon.

Kaito followed his gaze to the girl and nodded. "I saw her picture. Shall we go talk to her?"

Shinichi nodded, setting off towards the girl at a quick but careful pace. She didn't seem to notice them at all. Yet even as they approached Shinichi could see that there was something incredibly wrong. He had thought the girl to be wearing clothes made of some kind of reflective material, but now that he was closer he could see that it wasn't the clothes that were reflective—it was the girl herself. Her entire body, clothes and all, shimmered in the sunlight and he could see right through her. It felt a bit like how it was to look at Takagi-keiji right now, only different. Where the transparent policeman looked like a ghost whose body was only partially on the physical plane, this girl looked completely solid—just…see-through and shiny. Kind of like a colored bubble.

Not wanting to crowd her, he glanced at Kaito and asked silently with gestures that the magician stay back. Then he stepped up beside her. "Excuse me, but I was wondering, you are Maeda Manami, right?"

Translucent, brown eyes turned to look up at him. They seemed somewhat distant but what really caught his attention was the bone-deep weariness that suffused every line of the girl's face.

"I am," she said softly, "but who are you?"

"My name is Kudo Shinichi," he explained. "I heard from the police that you had gone missing. Your parents are very worried about you."

"Oh." Her eyes grew sad as she turned them back to the river flowing by below her dangling feet. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"Why did you leave?" he asked gently, sitting down beside her.

She was silent so long that he thought she might not answer and was about to try a different approach when she spoke. "I…had to go." She lifted a hand so that he could see the way the sunlight passed through it, making it glow like water in a hand-shaped container. "I…didn't want to scare them. And I guess I was kind of scared myself."

"But you don't seem scared anymore," he noted.

A faint, sorrowful smile crept onto her face. "I'm not."

"Then it's about time you headed home. I don't think you need to worry about your parents. I'm sure they'll understand. They really miss you."

"I know…" She turned wide, wistful eyes to him. "Could you—could you tell them I'm sorry?"

He frowned slightly, an uneasy feeling creeping up inside his chest. "Wouldn't it be better if you told them yourself?"

"I would, but I—I can't… I can't hold it anymore…"

He tensed. "What do you mean?"

"I'm too tired…just so tired…" A tear slid from her right eye to slide down the side of her face, growing larger along the way as though picking up additional moisture. In fact, her entire body seemed to be wavering.

Alarmed, Shinichi reached out to catch her shoulder. His fingers never made contact. Instead he watched in horror as she seemed to simply fall apart before his hand could reach her, sloughing away in a small splash like water poured from a bucket. The liquid splashed across the ground and spilled into the river. In less than a second there was nothing left of the girl once known as Manami but a wet stain on the ground.

Shinichi sat frozen with his hand still outstretched. He couldn't tear his eyes away from that patch of dampness. Even as he watched he could see it growing fainter as the remaining moisture began to evaporate in the late afternoon heat. He had the sudden urge to try and stop it but he knew it was pointless. There was nothing he could do. His stomach twisted sickeningly and for a moment he couldn't seem to breathe. His head spun.

A hand landed on his shoulder, pulling him back against its owner in a gesture of comfort. "Take a deep breath," Kaito's voice ordered and Shinichi did as he was told, gulping down a lungful of air. It cleared his head a bit and he realized that there were lines of frost creeping away from him on the ground. They vanished almost as soon as he noticed them.

"Kaito, she just… She's _gone_." Just like that. There was literally nothing left of her. No body, no clothes, no prints. Like she'd never even existed.

"I saw." There was a hint of strain in the magician's voice now and Shinichi placed his hands over the ones clasped around his middle. The solidity of each other was a comfort to them both at that moment though Shinichi doubted that either of them would be feeling particularly good for a while to come.

Shinichi swallowed in an attempt to clear his dry throat as he glanced sideways and up at the magician kneeling behind him. "There were fifteen people on that list—more in total…" His gaze dragged itself inexorably back to the river as his stomach clenched unpleasantly. "By now, they could all be…"

For what was very possibly the first time in his entire life, Kaito wasn't sure what to say. It was, after all, very possible that the rest of the people on the list of those who'd gone missing had suffered fates similar to Maeda Manami's. On the other hand, it was also possible that they hadn't and instead whatever changes had occurred in them simply complicated the process of getting home. Either way the situation still looked pretty grim.

And he didn't like the fact that he could just see Shinichi's mind spiraling down all those negative possibilities. It wasn't that Shinichi was particularly prone to pessimism, or at least that was what the magician had decided, but having spent most of his life dealing with the less savory things that life had to offer he had a tendency to look that way first. It was, Kaito mused, kind of sad but fairly natural that one might come to expect the worst like it was the more common way of things. And yet the detective was always trying to change that because he wasn't the kind of person who would surrender to the dark and not light a candle just because it was small and might go out.

Kaito wasn't either. But the magician was of the opinion that candles didn't have to be large or long lived because at the end of every night was dawn.

Admittedly, this coming day looked to be a little overcast.

Shinichi pulled away abruptly and scrambled to his feet. "We should tell the police what we saw. We have to do something. It's not right that people still don't know what could be happening. We might have been able to avoid this if…" He stopped and shook his head. "And—and we need to go see her parents."

**TBC**

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><p><strong>A.N<strong>: Now I feel like going to write something funny. ^^ See you next time!


	13. A Shot in the Dark

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

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><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

13: A Shot in the Dark

For the first time in his career as the elusive Kaitou KID, Kaito didn't feel like going to his own heist. Watching a girl literally melt away into nothing but water (then having to tell her parents about it and watch them yell at the messengers for what they perceived to be a sick joke) and knowing that there could be others like her out there right now with no one to turn to was something of a damper. What he really wanted to do was continue searching for those people. He couldn't, however, cancel it (all considered he had a reputation to keep). And Shinichi had a point when he mentioned that it was entirely possible that some of these people—or people who could end up like them—could show up at the heist. It was only natural since it was their attendance at the last one that had started it all. So instead he'd headed home to prepare and Shinichi had run back to his house to run off a few dozen copies of a short flyer instructing anyone who felt strange or were experiencing strange symptoms to go to the hospital as quickly as possible (a plan that had been approved by the police who would be contacting the city's hospitals about the issue). After a long struggle with himself, he had decided to say that it was because there was a new virus going around. It was too hard to explain everything properly on paper, but he still felt a bit guilty about the lie. People had the right to know. They just had to find the right way to spread the news without causing a panic. Though at this rate it was rapidly becoming too late (if it wasn't already).

Stuffing the flyers into a shoulder bag for easy access, he had to run all the way to the train station to make sure he made it to the heist in time (really it had been incredibly weird solving the notice with KID sitting right there in the room with him, but he was gradually getting used to that kind of weird).

He arrived a few minutes after the heist had begun to be greeted by the sound of Nakamori's muffled roars and immediately began to pass out the warning flyers since the period between KID's arrival and departure was the time when his fans, gathered as they were outside, could do nothing but wait. He got a lot of strange looks for his trouble, but a few people showed signs of other emotions—some nervous, some relieved, others downright frightened. At least one person gave him the oddest little smirk before making a show of stuffing the paper carelessly into a pocket. Shinichi hadn't liked the looks of that, but he didn't have the time to dwell on it. The audience was bound to go crazy once KID came back out of the heist building and then no one would have any attention to spare for the weird teenager handing out papers.

X

Despite his original reluctance in regards to the heist, the thrill of the game had come back with the start of the show. There was nothing like making Nakamori howl with frustration and seeing the task force (and any attending detectives) running around in a helpless frenzy, setting off traps and getting in each other's way, to cheer up the day. It was a pity Shinichi was busy outside. He was sure the detective would have found the sight of Hakuba and three task force members doing a mad sort of tap dance to avoid the spray of neon orange paint balls just as funny as Kaito did. By the time he opened his glider he was in a considerably brighter mood. Causing mass mayhem was always therapeutic.

Later, he would look back on the night and wonder at the irony of it all. Talk about a day full of discoveries. With everything that had been happening, he'd almost forgotten about his heists' sometimes guest.

Almost, but not quite.

He had only just left the building's roof when he caught the flash in the corner of his field of vision.

Everyone present froze as the shot rang out.

For an instant there was absolute silence as the audience looked up in horrified anticipation, no one sure exactly what had happened. The police who had been on the roof and therefore much closer to the scene of action simply watched in horror. From where they were, they could clearly see that the thief had been right in the line of fire.

However the bullet stopped abruptly in midair. It hung suspended for a moment before falling harmlessly into the thief's outstretched hand. The hand of a thief who was now standing on empty air some distance from the rooftop with his glider disengaged. Several officers looked up but there were no helicopters out today. As the rest of the world stared in paralyzed shock, the thief turned slowly towards the source of the shot.

Nakamori Ginzo, having come to a stop at the very edge of the roof in his original attempt to catch the thief who'd been eluding him for years, was the only one close enough to see the subtle shift in the thief's expression as he started walking. It was… He couldn't quite describe it. KID had always been impossible to read with that damned arrogant smirk of his. Yet even so he'd always had a sort of playful air to him. It was what usually made Nakamori want to strangle him since it showed just how little regard KID had for law enforcement. But at that moment—at that moment he found that that arrogant smirk was much, much preferable to whatever it was he was seeing now. KID was still smiling, but that went only so far as to say that the corners of his mouth were turned up.

For Kaito, it seemed the entire world had stilled. Everything had become sharper yet it felt surreal nonetheless. Because he knew he was about to see the man he'd been hunting for the last few years of his life. He had thrown up a force field around the roof the sniper had been on the moment he'd heard the shot. There was no way the man could slip away this time. He didn't even have to hurry. He could _feel_ that he'd caught the serpent in the grass.

The police were still in shock, but they'd get over it. Then they would remember their jobs and check the roof for the sniper. But until then… Well, he had a lot of things he wanted to say.

He saw Snake before the man saw him because the sniper was feeling along an invisible wall like a mime in search of an exit. The moment Kaito's gaze focused on him however the man's shoulders stiffened and he turned, mean eyes glaring across at the thief who had stepped onto the railing that guarded the roof's edge. In one swift motion he pulled a handgun out from inside his jacket and fired it. But like with the rifle shot earlier the bullet never reached its target. Instead it met some unseen obstacle and fell to roll harmlessly across the roof. Kaito noted to himself that the man was extremely lucky he hadn't decided to make it bounce back. He could have, he thought, and he wasn't even sure he'd have regretted it. But he had decided a long time ago not to sink that low.

"It looks to me like you've lost the game, Snake," the thief remarked, looking coldly down at the man he'd trapped. There was a grim sort of triumph in his indigo eyes.

The sniper's mouth moved in what Kaito could read were very impolite words, but he wasn't inclined to adjust his force field so that he could hear them better.

It was at that moment that the door leading back into the office building they were on slammed open.

"KID!"

"Ah, Tantei-kun," the magician greeted even as he produced a bottle from somewhere on his person. "See if the police have thawed yet would you? They're being awfully slow."

Shinichi shot him an inscrutable look before his gaze shifted to the man with the long case slung across his back and the handgun still clutched in one hand. "They're almost here."

Kaito raised the bottle and a moment later a cloud of sleeping gas sprayed forth. It was like watching a glass box fill with colored water. All the gas remained trapped inside the invisible cube around the angry man until they couldn't see the man anymore, only a swirl of pink smoke.

"Well, that takes care of that," the thief remarked, sounding like his usual, mocking self all of a sudden as he turned back to grin at Shinichi. "I'll lift it in about two minutes. Ciao." He tipped his hat to the detective and stepped back off the roof.

"KID, wait!"

But the magician had already gone.

Nakamori came charging out onto the roof a few moments later. "Where's KID?"

"He left already," Shinichi replied, pointing towards the distant, white triangle of the aforementioned thief's glider.

Nakamori frowned but his eyes were already searching the roof. "What about the sniper?"

"In there."

The inspector turned and his eyes landed on the cube of pink smoke. He stared at it. "What the hell is _that_?"

"That is a good question," another voice remarked as Hakuba emerged from the stairwell and approached the cube (Shinichi noted with some amusement that his fellow detective was spotted all over with neon orange paint that totally ruined his usual, unruffled demeanor). He tapped on it then began to walk around it. He made to touch it again but this time his hand passed through empty air and the smoke began to dissipate. He stared at his hand for a moment then at the smoke getting towed away by the wind and back at his hand. Shinichi thought he looked a bit disturbed—but not surprised.

Deciding that Hakuba and Nakamori could handle the situation, Shinichi slipped back into the building and past the other officers who had only just arrived. His heart was still racing (though not half as fast as his thoughts) and his stomach felt as though it had twisted itself into a tight knot. He had to force himself to breathe in slowly but his feet insisted on picking up their pace.

X

Shinichi wasn't sure if he was upset or relieved when he walked into his living room to see Kaito sitting by the fireplace with a mug of what smelled like hot chocolate in hand. What he _wasn__'__t_ was surprised. From what he'd observed he'd already determined that the magician seemed, for whatever reason, to find Shinichi's house a relaxing place to be. And usually Shinichi found his presence similarly soothing (which made him wonder about his own sanity, but that was a different matter altogether). Now, however, it made that unsettled feeling in his stomach multiply and he was talking before he'd made the conscious decision to do so.

"You were _expecting_ that sniper!" The accusation cracked the silence of the room, making the magician look up from his drink with raised eyebrows.

Kaito paused then shrugged, expression unreadable. "Not exactly. I didn't know he'd be there today, but he does have a tendency to pop up now and then. Truth be told, it took the police a lot longer to nab him than I thought it would, but I expect we won't be seeing him again any time soon." For a moment his smile was once again that somewhat chilling smirk he'd worn back on the roof.

Shinichi's frown deepened. So he'd been right (why hadn't it ever occurred to him before that that was what the flash and flare was for? Looking back it should have been obvious. It was just that, KID being KID, he'd always assumed it was just because the thief liked to show off). "Why didn't you _say_ anything? Do you have any idea how much danger you were putting yourself in?"

"Oh, well, that's rich coming from you," the thief drawled. "You hardly have any room to talk."

"I don't run around making myself a big, white target every few weeks!"

"And I don't see how it's any of your business. It was my choice to make," Kaito retorted, his own smile vanishing as he stared across the room at the detective. "Some of us can't just wave at the police and expect them to do what's needed. You should know better than to judge what you do not understand."

Shinichi stood there for a long moment, feeling a bit lost as to what to say, before he finally looked away. "You're right, I apologize."

Kaito winced inwardly at the detective's stiff tone. Suddenly it felt like they were back to being the professionally acquainted strangers they had been weeks ago.

"I'm going to bed. Please lock up whatever portal you leave by when you go."

Kaito watched the detective exit the room wanting to say something but not knowing what he could say at the moment that wouldn't just aggravate the situation. He hadn't meant to snap, but he'd been handling this particular problem by himself for so long it was hard even for him not to feel a bit defensive about it. His choices, his reasons…he lived his life by them just like every other person in the world did even if he had never told them to any soul other than his own. He'd never _had_ to explain himself to anyone. True, he'd entertained the thought now and then, more so now than before, but in his mind such an event was to have been something he planned and executed at his own pace.

Leaning back in the armchair he'd usurped, the magician allowed himself a frustrated breath which sounded oddly loud in the empty room. He couldn't have planned for Snake's attendance that night (though he was kind of glad he had. With these new abilities trapping the bastard had been absurdly simple once he knew where the man was hiding). But he should have thought ahead considering it was bound to happen sooner or later. He'd also been caught by surprise by Shinichi's reaction. Of course he'd predicted the detective wouldn't be pleased—he was that kind of person after all—but the strength of his reaction had been unexpected. While he was touched (and secretly kind of pleased) by this evidence that Shinichi cared about him, this was offset by the knowledge that his own actions had probably had an adverse affect on this relationship he'd been carefully building over the past weeks.

He had a decision to make here. Scratch that, he'd already made his decision even before he'd let Shinichi see his face. The problem at hand was what he was going to do next.

X

Shinichi fell into bed without bothering to change. He was exhausted. With everything that had happened, morning felt like it had been centuries ago. First running around all over the city for the missing persons cases, then that encounter with Manami (the mere thought of which still made his stomach turn over). The meeting with the poor girl's family hadn't helped at all, and then the heist. For a moment there he'd been afraid—terrified—that the magician had actually been shot. He supposed that was one good thing that had come of the science museum fiasco. He was no stranger to death, but that didn't mean it couldn't still be shocking or horrifying, and while it meant he was accustomed to finding himself in dangerous situations it had made him far more wary for the safety of those he cared for. Untoward things happened far too often around him for him not to be. While none of them had been killed yet, they couldn't say the same for injuries, and in those moments when he allowed himself to think about it he was afraid that it was only a matter of time. No one was immune to death after all. No matter how careful you were, there was always the chance for a mishap.

And that was when you didn't have someone specifically trying to kill you.

Finding out after the fact didn't make it any less of an unpleasant discovery. But it wasn't his place to demand to be told these kinds of things by anyone (all considered he never willingly told anyone these kinds of things either, preferring to keep them as far out of it as possible), let alone KID of all people. Quite aside from the fact that the magician was nothing if not good at staying one step ahead of everyone else, he was still a thief. He suspected that the reason he knew as much about the other as he did was because Kaito trusted him not to pry. It was, he reflected, a rather strange friendship that they had, but it was still a friendship. Or at least he had come to see it as one. It hurt more than he had expected to be reminded that they were, in reality, still very much standing in different worlds.

He seemed to be running into that realization a lot lately.

And he thought that maybe this was what Ran had meant when she had talked about trust. It was the one force in the universe capable of truly rendering such boundaries powerless.

Letting out his breath in a long sigh, he rolled over onto his side and pulled the covers closer around himself. It was an unexpectedly cold night.

It was a frustrating side effect of the unfortunate combination of weariness and unwelcome thoughts that they staved off sleep more effectively than any amount of coffee ever could. With every passing second the silence grew louder and the bed less comfortable. It didn't seem to matter how he positioned himself. The most annoying part was that he _knew_ he wanted to sleep—every muscle in his body felt heavy and he kept having to bite back the urge to yawn. But the harder he tried to grasp those fleeting tendrils of sleep the more distant they felt. Maybe he should go grab a book to read or do some homework. At least that would be more productive. But if he got out of bed now he would lose what little hold he had on the boat to dreamland. He groaned quietly to himself and turned over again in a futile attempt to find a comfortable position.

Morbid curiosity made him open his eyes to check the time. However, instead of the clear view of the alarm clock on his night stand that he had expected he was greeted by the sight of a pair of indigo eyes.

He jerked away from the eyes in shock and nearly fell off the other side of the bed (at which point he experienced a moment of déjà vu). He caught himself just before going over the edge this time however and shot thee owner of the eyes an irritated glare. He had gotten somewhat accustomed to the magician's lack of regard for the personal bubble, but he doubted any amount of accustoming could take the shock out of turning around to find someone else staring at you from near point blank range especially when you _hadn__'__t__even__heard__the__door__open_. Maybe he should invest in the acquiring of bells to put over all his doors like they did at some shops.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, annoyance growing at the realization that now he really was wide awake. "Why are you still here?"

The magician blinked then sat up from where he'd had his chin propped on folded arms at the edge of the bed (apparently he'd also managed to pull over the desk chair without making any sound). "Can't sleep?"

Shinichi frowned at the non-answer and folded his arms.

The magician watched him for a moment before realizing that he wasn't planning on saying anything. Sighing, Kaito sat back in the chair he'd appropriated. His expression had grown oddly somber and Shinichi couldn't help but focus on that intense gaze. And then he couldn't have looked away if he'd tried.

"Well, since it doesn't seem like either of us is going to be getting any sleep any time soon, I thought I could tell a story."

Shinichi blinked, earlier irritation disappearing in the face of his confusion. "A story?"

Kaito nodded, absently rolling a bright, red ball that had appeared out of nowhere over the back of his hand and bouncing it from finger to finger. "If you want to listen."

Shinichi took a moment to study Kaito's face. His expression was serious even if his tone was light and there was something about the earnestness in his gaze that told Shinichi this was about more than just passing the time.

Well, it wasn't like he was going to be getting any sleep anyway. Shuffling to the end of his bed, he climbed off and straightened out his clothes before glancing again at the waiting thief.

"Do you want anything to drink?"

X

It had been both harder and easier than he'd thought it would be, Kaito reflected. And it felt…incredibly good to finally tell someone the whole story. Shinichi had listened to him intently without interrupting, letting him decide for himself how much he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it. If he'd asked more questions, Kaito thought he might have said less.

Shinichi had accepted his story with remarkably little skepticism (even in regards to the idea of a gem with supernatural powers, but then again, after the stuff they'd seen lately, perhaps that was only to be expected). He still felt there should have been better avenues through which Kaito could have worked to capture his father's murderer, but he could understand why the magician had decided to do things the way he had too. None of his choices had been easy ones, Shinichi thought, and it was amazing that Kaito could still be the upbeat person he was.

Afterward the conversation had shifted to lighter topics as the atmosphere relaxed until Kaito noticed that Shinichi had fallen asleep. He took a moment just to watch the detective sleep. He looked much more peaceful now than he had earlier when Kaito had found him tossing and turning in his room.

Smiling faintly, he got up and went to fetch the blanket from Shinichi's room. The detective let out an incoherent murmur as the blanket was tucked around him, unconsciously pulling it closer as he snuggled deeper into the armchair.

Kaito debated with himself for a moment before leaning down and placing a gentle kiss on the sleeping detective's forehead. Murmuring a quiet 'good night', he turned off the library lights and left to make his own way home, feeling rather a lot lighter than he had in a long time.

**TBC**

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><p><strong>A.N<strong>: The last couple chapters have been a bit grim. The next few will be lighter before it gets more serious again. Merry Christmas everyone!


	14. A Call to Order

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

* * *

><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

14: A Call to Order

"The city's officials held a meeting this morning to discuss the recent spate of unnatural occurrences that has been plaguing our population," the reporter announced before going on to outline just what those occurrences were. "In order to prevent any further accidents, it has been decided that everyone who was present at the new science museum during the explosion should report to the nearest hospital for a thorough examination for your awn and others' safety. A facility outside the city limits has been set aside for everyone who is suffering from unusual symptoms. This facility is to be used by these individuals to learn to deal with their new situation in a safe environment."

"Sounds an awful lot like they're trying to kick us all out so they won't have to worry, doesn't it?" Kaito observed as the reporter continued to explain the new arrangements to be put into motion as soon as the following day.

"Not that you can really blame them," Shinichi replied with a sigh, thinking back a bit guiltily on the freak snowstorm not all that long ago that had held up all the traffic in Beika for several hours (and he still didn't know how _that_ had happened, storms and freezing didn't quite add up to the same thing in his head). The spontaneous hot-cold flashes he'd been suffering over the last few weeks didn't help. "Maybe it's better this way. I got a call from Hattori this morning. He and Kazuha and a couple other people from Osaka who were down here for the heist will be there too." Hattori had sounded unusually distracted, but Shinichi had been in too much of a rush to get to school at the time to expend the extra time and effort it would take to unearth the reason for it.

"I take it that means you're going?"

The detective sighed. "Seeing as I was responsible for one of those unnatural occurrences they're calling a plague, that would be a yes. It would be nice to figure out how to just shut this thing down."

"You don't necessarily have to go out to the middle of nowhere to do that," Kaito pointed out.

"No, but the whole point of that is so that when something goes wrong there will be less stuff around to damage. No traffic to jam, for example." Finishing off the last stir-fried shrimp on his plate, he set the now empty dish down on the living room table and picked up his coffee. Kaito had arrived that day with what looked an awful lot like a picnic which, apparently, his mother had insisted he take with him.

"She was trying new recipes again," he explained as Shinichi stared at the massive basket. "I told her I was meeting a friend and so she said I could help her get a second opinion."

Shinichi wondered idly if this was the magician's way of stocking his house but decided just to be grateful. Kaito's mother was, apparently, a very good cook. Considering the sheer amount of stuff she had packed there was going to be enough in the way of leftovers to keep him from having to go grocery shopping for several meals to come.

"Did you see the notice in the paper this morning?" he asked, turning the volume down on the television.

"The one addressed to me? Of course." The magician produced some newspapers with a flourish. "I must say I'm a bit surprised. I'd love to know how they got old man Nakamori to sign this. They must really be scared about what could happen."

"Understandable, considering some of the things that have already happened. But I think they're probably hoping that if you agreed to be there it would convince your fans to follow suit. So are you going to go?"

Kaito hummed thoughtfully, rereading the notice that had greeted him from the pages that morning. It was an incredibly politely written notice addressed to Kaitou KID requesting his presence at this little camp thing they were organizing along with a promise signed by a rather long list of relevant officials and officers that no attempt would be made to either arrest him or uncover his identity for the duration of said venture. Obviously they had made the connection between the force fields from the other heist and the thief.

"I've already got a pretty good handle on my abilities, but it could be useful to see what kinds of things are happening to the others. And frankly," he added, indigo eyes darkening, "it seems like it would be a bit impolite not to at least show up considering it's partially my fault they were at the museum when it happened to begin with."

"But won't it cause problems?" Shinichi asked hesitantly. He didn't have to specify for Kaito to understand what he was asking about. If Kuroba Kaito disappeared just when KID had to make an extended appearance, Hakuba (whose presence in his class Kaito had mentioned once when he'd shown up in an unusually foul mood ranting about nosy blond bastards and misguided best friends) would no doubt see it as further evidence of their being the same person. And then Hakuba might remember a certain incident way back when this all began when he'd nearly flattened his nose on an invisible wall no one else could feel. Unless there was someone else out there who had been affected by the smoke the same way Kaito had, that might almost be able to be considered proof. Not indisputable, but it would certainly make the blond bastard even more irritating than he already was. It was a pity he couldn't actually duplicate himself. Although…

Shinichi paused with his mug halfway to his mouth when Kaito suddenly looked up from his contemplations with a broad, toothpaste-commercial-worthy smile. Alarms went off in the back of his mind all telling him he should flee, but this was his own house and running away from it just didn't seem right somehow. That and he was fairly sure you couldn't run far enough to get away from a determined Kuroba Kaito. So it was with great trepidation that he opened his mouth to ask, "What?"

X

"Come on Kazuha, it won't kill you to go!"

"But there's nothing wrong with me!" the girl's voice retorted, the irritation in it clear despite the muffling effects of the door that separated them. "Why do you keep insisting there is? It's like you want there to be something wrong!"

"What?" Heiji exclaimed in shocked indignation. "No! How could you even think that?"

"Then why do you keep going on about it when I already told you I'm fine? Don't think I haven't noticed the way you keep eyeing me like you think I'm going to fall over or something! It's like that's all you're thinking about lately."

"I'm just worried all right?" Letting out a frustrated breath, the Osakan detective turned around and sat down with his back against the door. "You didn't see those reports the Tokyo PD sent over. They… There've been at least three confirmed fatalities—more than five times that still missing…"

There was a long silence from the other side of the door before Kazuha spoke again, this time in a much more subdued voice. "You—you mean…people are dying from this?"

"So it seems." Grim eyes stared unseeing across the hall. "They've got people working on finding some kind of cure, but it gets everyone a different way apparently so it ain't going to be easy."

"But…didn't you say most people weren't affected?"

"Yeah, but the largest number of people who were is from our age group. And, well, they're not sure if it might just mean some people react slower than others."

Another long silence.

"Heiji?"

"Yeah?"

"You—you didn't tell me… Are—are you…?"

This time it was Heiji's turn to hesitate and he could almost feel the tension rising on the other side of the door. "It's—not anything real bad. Do you remember me telling you about that weird fire a few weeks ago? Well, uh, it kinda happened more than once, just not as bad. I think it happens when I get angry or something."

There was a rather strained laugh from the girl inside the room but it died away quickly. "Does…does everyone—"

"No," he said quickly, knowing what she was going to ask but not particularly wanting to hear the whole question because while he didn't think it was a yes he didn't really know for certain either. It was, after all, what everyone was afraid of. Problem was he couldn't know if he was just going to suddenly combust one of these days until it happened. It wasn't a pleasant thought even if he found it kind of morbidly funny. All these years of figuring out the whys and wherefores behind what other people would call freak accidents had certainly found one hell of a way to strike back. "From what I heard it seems like a lot of people are just getting weird abilities. You know, like in a fantasy story or something. Who knows, it might end up being useful for some people." He just wanted them both to be closer to the doctors researching the matter in case things went sour. And he wanted to get an idea of what kinds of things were happening to everyone else—give himself some kind of measure to go by.

There was a soft sigh from Kazuha that he had to strain his ears to hear. "All right. I guess it wouldn't hurt to go take a look. But you owe me a trip to the playhouse when we get back. I've been waiting for this show for months, you know."

He rolled his eyes but he was smiling. "I know, I know."

X

"I can't believe I'm doing this." Shinichi stared in mixed disbelief and horror at his own reflection as it gazed back at him from the full length mirror in his parents' bedroom. Just the hair was enough to make him cringe. His own hair was naturally prone to being neat (something for which he was very grateful), but that also meant that Kaito had had to employ a horrendous amount of hair gel to get it to do what he wanted it to do—in other words, imitate the bird's nest Kaito tended to sport. Shinichi could already foresee the nightmare of trying to wash the stuff out. At least the clothes were easy. Kaito was a little taller than he was, but certainly not enough to make his clothes look too awkward on his almost twin. Shinichi just hoped no one noticed the slightly weighed down look of the collar since Kaito had taken the mechanics of his old bowtie voice-changer and hidden it there (after swearing on his reputation that he would put it back good as new when done. Okay, yes, Shinichi had to admit, he was a little attached to it even if he didn't need it anymore. But in his defense he'd been using it for a long time).

"And here're the contacts," Kaito announced, making a small, contact lens container appear in Shinichi's hands with a snap of his fingers. "I assume you know how to put them on?"

Shinichi eyed the case like it would bite him but nodded before slouching gloomily into the bathroom to put them in. In his opinion the color contacts were a bit over the top. He doubted anyone would notice the change in eye color, and even if they did the color wasn't _that_ different. Still, Kaito insisted that it was all about the details. Personally, the detective suspected he was just having too much fun with this.

"So what did you tell your mom anyway?" he asked as he examined the contacts.

"Same story. That a friend invited me over for the duration of the break coming up. We sure were lucky they chose to do this now really. At least we won't have to bring homework. I think she knows though," he added, chipper tones taking on a more thoughtful air. "Almost sure of it actually. Anyhow, I promised to send her postcards."

"I assume your assistant will be handling those?"

"Yep. After I do anyway. It would be weird if they didn't have my fingerprints on them. Are you done in there or did you need help?"

Shinichi stared at himself in the mirror a bit longer before resigning himself to the inevitable and stepping outside. "Why am I doing this again?"

Kaito grinned at him. "Because we're friends and you want to help me. Now cheer up. You'll never pass for me with that look on your face."

"And what makes you think Hakuba isn't going to assume that one or the other of us is just a person you disguised? Rightly so, I might add."

"What did you think all that practice was for? Have some faith! Although really, he doesn't have to swallow it all—to be honest, I doubt you could get the suspicion out of him without surgery—but we just want to confuse him a little. Come on, either way it'll be fun. Now smile," Kaito instructed. "Not like that. More. Like you've just seen Sherlock Holmes walking down the street."

"But that's impossible."

"Just pretend," the magician insisted.

Sighing, Shinichi closed his eyes and did as he'd been told. A chance to actually meet the greatest detective ever to exist in life or fiction…

Kaito blinked. "Whoa, why can't you look that excited when you see _me_?"

The flat look returned.

The magician tutted. "You have to be able to hold it longer than that. Try again."

Shinichi rolled his eyes but obliged.

Kaito eyed him critically. It was, he mused, rather interesting. They might look kind of similar, but they just didn't feel the same, and Shinichi wasn't skilled enough an actor to be able to emulate the magician's particular presence. And while the smile was better than that deadpan look, the expression still felt more Shinichi than it did Kaito. Oh well, it would have to do.

X

Hakuba glanced at his watch as he waited outside the park, doing his utmost best to ignore the chattering going on in the branches over his head. Part of him was relieved that he now had an explanation for the…well, the things he'd been hearing—an explanation that wasn't he was losing his mind anyway. But the other part of him was still wrestling with the fact that this…change in his hearing meant that birds were actually capable of a great deal more complexity in thought and behavior than he had ever thought possible. Of course he'd learned that not all birds understood human, but the fact that some of them _did_ was just—just mindboggling. There wasn't really any other way to put it. He had actually had a _conversation_ with _Watson_ that morning about their upcoming trip (it turned out Watson was a little on the simple minded side but gratifyingly loyal). Afterward he'd wondered if he'd dreamed the whole thing except that he knew he hadn't (oddly enough it helped that Watson had been just as surprised as he felt). From what he could tell it seemed pet birds were more prone to understanding human, but most birds who lived around people understood at least a little.

Grimacing, he pinched the bridge of his nose. This was not what he wanted to be thinking about right now. Inwardly he cringed at the idea of going out to spend his school vacation at some camp retreat place where there was bound to be a bird on every branch, but he wanted to know what was happening with the others. And Aoko was going. Even if she hadn't said so outright he knew she'd been freaked out by the windows incident. She'd been doing her best not to raise her voice lately. It would do her some good to get away to somewhere where she could test just exactly what she needed to be careful of and he wanted to be there for her.

"If you're not careful, your face is going to freeze that way. I doubt Aoko would be very happy about that."

He opened his eyes to find the last person in the universe he wanted to see watching him with his hands in his pockets and raised eyebrows.

"What do you want, Kuroba?" he asked, suppressing the urge to sigh.

"Oh, I was passing by. Thought I might as well say goodbye since you'll be leaving and all."

"That's hardly necessary," the blonde said dryly. "As I am sure I will be seeing you again shortly."

The magician wagged a finger at him. "Ah, but that's where you're wrong. You see, I happen to have better things to do during my break." He smirked and turned only to pause to cast the detective a jaunty wave. "Have fun~! And don't hurry back!"

Hakuba watched him go with the familiar sense of irritation that generally accompanied such encounters. Although he was somewhat grateful that the magician hadn't decided to pull any tricks for once.

That was when the sound of snickering reached his ears. Stiffening, Hakuba looked around. Finding no one, he looked up, half expecting it to be some bird. Instead his eyes widened in shock when he saw the familiar, white-clad form of KID sitting in the branches overhead. He whipped his head around but he could still see Kuroba's retreating back. His classmate had his hands in his pockets again and was walking with a cheerful bounce to his step that was all too familiar. Brown eyes jerked back up again. KID was still there.

"That wouldn't be a good expression to have stuck on your face either, Tantei-san," the thief informed him with an admonishing tone like he was talking to a child. "Or did you want to be a flycatcher when you grew up?"

When the blonde didn't respond immediately, the thief shrugged and stood up, brushing a few loose leaves off of his white cape. "Not much of a conversationalist today, are we? And here I thought we could have a little chat about a little rumor a, ah, little bird told me." He smirked as the detective stiffened. "And it seems I have my answer. Well, I'm going to be taking my leave then." He cast the confused detective a cocky grin and vanished in a flash of light.

X

Shinichi let out a breath of relief as he flopped down onto the couch in his living room. He felt a bit bad about tricking his fellow detective like that (and did Kaito really talk like he'd scripted to the blonde all the time?), but he reasoned that it wouldn't do Hakuba any harm. And really, Kaito was the one with the really difficult task coming up—though no doubt he would see it as a grand old challenge.

Getting up, he made his way to the bathroom to get rid of the contacts. By the time he got back Kaito was sitting in the living room. The magician was grinning fit to crack his face in two. He bounded to his feet the moment he saw Shinichi and grabbed the startled detective to spin him around in a sort of mad jig fast enough to leave Shinichi's head spinning.

"That was awesome! Did you see the look on his face when he saw me?" the magician cackled gleefully, finally letting go of Shinichi who retreated quickly to the other side of the room lest he be seized again. "It was hilarious! We should so do this again some time."

"I would rather not have to do this again," Shinichi replied, poking disconsolately at his hair which had become even more of a mess in Kaito's moment of jubilation. "Besides, he'll only get suspicious if it keeps happening."

"That's true," Kaito admitted. "Oh well, it was fun anyway. So when were you thinking about leaving?"

"After lunch," Shinichi replied, glancing up at the clock on the wall. "First I need to take a shower and get all this gunk out of my hair. If I'm lucky, I won't lose any in the process."

"I could help," the magician offered (hopefully, though Shinichi didn't notice. It was a little hard to judge how well Operation Accustom-Shinichi-to-his-Close Proximity was going when the detective didn't really seem to notice any of it. Hmm, or maybe that meant he was doing well. He thought with some amusement that it was a bit like stalking a skittish animal).

"No, that's all right. You should probably get going if you want to get a feel for the area before everyone else gets there."

"I suppose you have a point." He heaved a melodramatic sigh. "And here I thought we could go somewhere for lunch."

Shinichi snorted and headed for the stairs. "I'm sure you can find something good on your way there."

"True," the magician consented, trailing after him, "but it's not the same if I'm eating by myself."

"If I were you, I'd enjoy it while I could. I mean, we're about to spend a few weeks in a camp where two thirds of the people are going to be your fans and the other third are most likely going to be law enforcement."

"Ah, but that's why it's going to be fun."

Shinichi shot him a disbelieving look before shaking his head and shutting the bathroom door. Some people had the strangest ideas of fun.

X

"Does it hurt?"

A young woman looked up from where she had been huddled in the darkest corner of a dead end alley. Her house was just on the other side of that wall, she knew, but she couldn't dredge up the energy to climb it Through watering eyes, she could just make out a humanoid shape in the gloom.

"Who—who are you?" she demanded through gritted teeth, her entire body tense with a mixture of suspicion and discomfort. "What do you want?"

"I am not going to hurt you," the stranger replied, crouching down to be at eye level with her and offering her an inviting hand. The eyes that met hers seemed to radiate a light of their own, and yet she couldn't tell what color they were. "I can help you."

She stared at the proffered hand for a long moment before another ripple of agony made her reach out and grab that hand like it was a lifeline. "Please…"

**TBC**

* * *

><p><strong>A.N<strong>: Well, this officially begins what in my head is part two of this story. ^^ And I wish you all a happy New Year! I have to run now. There are a lot of relatives over right now.


	15. Camp Chaos

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

* * *

><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

15: Camp Chaos

This, Shinichi decided, was probably the worst idea anyone had ever come up with.

To be fair, it had started out all right. The buses that had been assigned the job of bringing people to the designated facility came and went, unloading nervous passengers, most of whom looked like they had no idea what to do with themselves now that they were here. All total Shinichi counted around sixty people with an extra dozen that turned out to be medical specialists. Once this was realized, almost half the people present immediately converged on said specialists, demanding to know exactly what was happening to them and how to fix it. Several people burst into hysterics, demanding to know if they were going to die.

Then there were the people who appeared to believe that this was all a game. These people were either giddy at the idea of having supernatural powers or squealing with excitement at the idea of possibly getting to meet and maybe even speak to the Kaitou KID. This latter group was clearly driving the KID task force members present crazy. The animosity between the two camps who had realized each other's presence was almost palpable (it probably didn't help that most of the task force officers had been seen at one point or another in one humiliating state or other as a result of attempting and failing to catch the infamous thief—and the fans remembered).

Obviously, Shinichi mused, the people who had thrown this together hadn't thought it out. For one, no one knew who was supposed to be in charge. Naturally, that meant no one was, and that left the mob to its own devices. Not a good idea under any circumstances.

And then KID had arrived. Well, actually he'd been there the whole time, but that was when he decided that it was time to officially arrive in the eyes of everyone else. Shinichi wouldn't have been surprised if he'd timed it for maximum possible mayhem.

All hell broke loose. The fans surged forward in a screaming rush, half trampling the not-fans with the misfortune of getting in their way. Perched up where no one could reach him, KID grinned and waved at them, making the whole situation just that much worse for the encouragement.

Shinichi was seriously debating the merits of trying to temporarily freeze everyone's feet to the ground when Satou-keiji got a hold of a megaphone from somewhere and her voice roared out across the masses in an extremely irate demand for silence.

"Listen up people! If we're going to be here we have to figure out where we're all staying," she snapped, eyes flashing in a fierce manner that quickly shut almost every mouth in attendance. "I'm sure you all want a roof over your heads tonight," she added in case the message hadn't sunk in. "They've got twenty cabins at this place and each one can hold up to four people. We'll draw lots for them. Girls, line up by the picnic tables, I'll bring the lots over. The guys can head over to the grove over there. Takagi-kun here has the lots for you."

Several people let out gasps when they followed her wave to see the transparent Takagi. There might even have been a scream or two. The officer in question instantly flushed under their stares and waved uncomfortably back at them.

"Right," Satou continued, drawing everyone's attention back to her. "I've been told the camp staff will have food for us at six. Be there and we'll talk about what we're going to do from there. Understood?"

There was a chorus of yeses and the crowd began to move in the directions of their appointed destinations. It seemed having some directions to follow was going a long way to calming the atmosphere. Shinichi silently applauded Satou's performance.

KID, who'd been seated in midair during the speech, stood up and stretched before casting a grin down at the rest of them. "I'll be taking my leave then. Later." And he vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Why did he even bother to come?" a familiar voice grumbled from behind Shinichi. "He obviously has _his_ situation under control."

"Hattori," the detective greeted, turning around and feeling slightly annoyed at the tone of the other's grumbling. After all, Kaito had come largely because he felt somewhat responsible for what had happened even if it wasn't his fault. Then again, Hattori couldn't know that, and Shinichi wouldn't tell him. "When did you get here?" he asked instead.

"I've been here since Satou-keiji took the reins. She's got one hell of a presence when she wants it."

"That's true," Shinichi agreed.

"So where's Nee-chan?" He rolled his eyes at Shinichi's blank look. "She was at that heist too, wasn't she? Shouldn't she be coming?"

"I don't know," Shinichi replied honestly. He hadn't really spoken to Ran since that day at the park other than trading hellos when they met at school. She wasn't actively avoiding him anymore or anything, they just…didn't talk much. "I'm sure Sonoko wouldn't miss coming for anything though whether or not she was affected, and she will probably have dragged Ran here too." He paused, taking in the rather odd expression on the Osakan's face. "What?"

But Hattori just shook his head. "Nothing. It's just I kinda thought she'd have forgiven you by now."

Shinichi paused at that then shrugged, turning to walk towards the grove where Takagi-keiji was waiting. The annoying thing about Hattori, he reflected, was that some issues always came up when he came around (it was like clockwork). Ran _had_ forgiven him though, as far as he could tell—he was pretty sure that was what the whole talk at the park had been about—but that didn't mean they were suddenly going to be best friends again just like that. And while it did make him feel a bit sad, Hattori seemed to be expecting him to feel like the world was ending—which, on top of being kind of irritating, just went to show how much he didn't understand (but thought he did).

Half an hour later Shinichi groaned inwardly, wondering which power of the universe he had offended. Of all the people to have to share a cabin with, why did it have to be Hattori _and_ Hakuba? One or the other of them he could handle, but they had never quite gotten over their initial dislike for one another and he just knew having to spend a few weeks sharing the same roof every night was going to remind them of exactly why this was so. And of course the last member of the 'un'happy party would have to be a boy who had apparently been at the KID heist because he was aspiring to become a reporter (there were several of these scattered among the ranks) and had been reporting for his high school paper. He'd seemed rather nervous at first at the idea of actually rooming with three of the most famous detectives in the country (it had taken him a full five minutes to stammer out that his name was Yamada Koji), but the nervousness was wearing off fast and Shinichi could just see the questions bubbling on the verge of bursting the dam.

After the lots had been drawn, everyone had dispersed to take their luggage to their new homes. Shinichi hadn't packed much—just a few changes of clothes and a handful of books stuffed into a large backpack—so he'd gotten to the cabin first. He'd just finished stowing his things away in the drawers under one of the beds by the door when his cabin-mates arrived. Hakuba entered first and deposited his own things on the bed opposite Shinichi's.

"Hey," Hattori complained an instant later as he paused in the doorway. "I was going to sleep there."

"Then you should have said so sooner," the blonde replied, making no move to change beds. Instead he started unpacking without a second glance at the Osakan detective.

Hattori scowled but Shinichi cut in before he could say anything. "The beds are all the same Hattori."

His friend snorted but let the matter drop. Shinichi could only wonder what kind of an impression they were giving Yamada as the boy hurried to the last bed to deposit his own belongings. He would probably think they were all crazy by the time they left this place.

The disagreement over the beds was only the tip of the iceberg. Hakuba, it turned out, was a neat freak, Hattori was not. Hattori wanted to have the windows open, Hakuba did not. It was amazing the number of inconsequential things they could find to argue about. By the time six o'clock rolled around Shinichi was immensely grateful.

Dinner wasn't anything to rave about, but it was decent enough. The dining hall had four long tables in it. The first was full of police, the farther two were full of KID fans, and the one in between was occupied by the more neutral parties: friends of either sect, reporters, wannabe reporters, etc. The boundaries were a bit blurred of course, but it was still fairly obvious that they were there. Shinichi wasn't sure if he should laugh or groan at the sight, and he wondered which table Kaito had decided to sit at. On the one hand he would probably find it vastly amusing to sit with the police, but on the other hand the police were the only group present who might notice an unfamiliar face and Kaito was unlikely to choose one of them to deprive of their first dinner here.

When everyone was done, Satou, who seemed to have unofficially become the person in charge, stood up and called again for everyone's attention.

"Right, so as some of you may know, there are several people here who have already learned to control their—situations. In my opinion, I think it would be advantageous for those of you who haven't to spend some time with these people." She paused a moment as murmurs of agreement rippled through the room. "I think we should split into smaller groups to make this easier. From what our specialists have told me, it seems there are three main types of changes people are experiencing: changes to the senses, changes to the physical body, and changes in the way a person influences the world around them. If you know which of these you are, I've posted lists on the bulletin board back there on the wall. Please write your name on the appropriate list and rate yourself on how much of a handle you have on your situation. If you aren't sure, or are here because you don't know if you were affected or not, please make an appointment with one of our doctors. There's a list for that too. Appointment times and locations will be posted tomorrow morning before breakfast. We'll put together the groups from the lists. Is everyone all right with this plan of action?"

Another murmur of agreement went through her audience.

"Good," she said with a satisfied smile. "Then that's it. Have a good evening everyone."

X

"Aw, I don't see him anywhere," Sonoko complained, her eyes darting all over the hall as people began to stand and wander towards the bulletin board. Others remained seated to talk to their friends for a little longer.

Beside her, Ran shook her head, torn between amusement and embarrassment at her friend's behavior. "Come on Sonoko, I'm sure you'll have other chances to see KID. I mean, we already know he came."

Sonoko scowled for a moment longer then deflated with a disappointed sigh. "I suppose you're right."

"We should go sign up for the doctor appointments," Ran continued, casting a look towards the bulletin in question. She had to admit that she was a little worried. She hadn't been feeling anything strange lately, but…well, she'd heard some scary stories that Megure and the other police had mentioned to her father over the past weeks. Mouri Kogoro had been given the rather lengthy missing persons list so that he could help the police. Then a few days ago Shiratori-keiji had shown up and crossed off several names. When she'd asked if they'd been found, he'd given her a solemn look and replied that they had—dead (or presumably so in some cases). Some of them hadn't even left bodies behind, their passing known only because someone had seen them go. _"To be fair,"_ Shiratori had added with a frown, _"for all we know they have simply translated into some other form of existence."_ But that didn't really make the situation feel any better.

"I guess," Sonoko was saying as she stood up to follow Ran to the bulletin. She couldn't really care less—_she_ knew she was feeling fit as a fiddle so _obviously_ she was all right—and really she'd only come so she could see KID-sama, but Ran was worried so she might as well go along with it.

Most of the hall had already cleared by the time the two girls reached the bulletin board. Ran wrote her name on the list requesting a doctor's appointment before quickly scanning the rest of the names out of curiosity. So Kazuha and Hattori were both here too. She'd have to find time to say hello. Her eyes fell on Shinichi's name on one of the neighboring lists. So he'd placed himself on the 'influence' list. She frowned slightly. She hadn't noticed anything really strange happening around him. Then again, she wasn't really sure what was strange for him anymore.

It was frustrating how little she knew about him now even if she'd made up her mind to let the past rest. So they weren't the same people anymore… Other people changed too, right? And, to be totally honest, she did still miss him.

Her breath left her in a sigh as she handed the signup pen over to Sonoko.

Last time she'd really talked to Shinichi, the conversation hadn't gone quite the way she'd planned. She'd told herself she wouldn't get mad, but she'd still been a little upset. At least now everything that needed to be said had been said. The thing was, she didn't really want for things to _end_ just like that. But it would end if things went on the way they had. If she didn't want it to, then it was up to her to do something about it (Shinichi being the socially inept person that she knew he was).

She could, she thought, at least try to get to know this Shinichi, and maybe one day they could find at least a semblance of the friendship they'd had before. It was worth a try, right? Right, she decided. The last few years had been trying, but it wasn't worth losing a friendship over—not without at least putting an effort into keeping it.

X

It was cabin number twelve and it sat on the far end of one of the cabin rows right near the edge of the forest. It was one of the two cabins whose number hadn't been drawn by anyone so it was supposed to be deserted. Shinichi shook his head when he saw the thin lines of light seeping out from inside the cabin through the closed shutters. That sure made things obvious. He would have thought Kaito would be a little more careful than that.

Making his way up to the door, he knocked and waited.

"So you did find your way here after all," the magician greeted as he opened the door almost before the sound of the knocking had faded.

Shinichi blinked in shock at the sight of Kaito as, well, himself standing in the cabin doorway. Then his head jerked around reflexively to search the surrounding area. "You idiot! What do you think you're doing?"

"Don't worry," the magician laughed, his grin growing smug. "Even if there is anyone watching, all they're gonna see is an empty cabin. And you and I are the only ones who can come inside the perimeter."

"The…perimeter?" Shinichi repeated, confused. "What are you talking about?"

He was rewarded by a wry smirk. "Didn't you notice anything when you were walking up to the door?"

Shinichi frowned, thinking back. "Well, I…did feel something tingling just before you turned on the lights," he said a bit doubtfully. He'd thought he'd been imagining that feeling.

Kaito was definitely looking amused now. "The lights were on the whole time. You just couldn't see them until you passed through the force field. And the real beauty of it is anyone who was watching you will think they saw you walk by into the woods. You see, since I dictate the force fields' properties, I can manipulate the way the light passes through to affect what people see when they look at it and who and what can pass through it."

The detective shook his head in amazement. "I didn't realize your abilities were that adaptable."

"Neither did I, but I have a feeling there's more where that came from. I just need to think outside the box."

"Something tells me your task force isn't going to be happy to hear that."

The gleam that flashed in the thief's eyes was positively evil. "Never let it be said that I let my fans get bored."

"…They're not your fans."

"They just don't realize it," Kaito replied with a dismissive wave. "So did you want to come in?"

"Yeah. Um…I was kind of wondering… Would you mind if I stayed here for the night?" Shinichi asked hesitantly, sounding equal parts embarrassed and totally exhausted. "I've been listening to Hattori and Hakuba-san argue for the last three hours and it doesn't sound like they're going to stop any time soon."

Kaito laughed and stepped back, gesturing him inside. "You could move in if you want. I wouldn't mind."

"Hattori and Hakuba would notice," Shinichi replied rather forlornly. "Heck, I think Yamada-san would too. Reporters are almost as bad as detectives when it comes to being nosy you know."

"A reporter huh? He must be having a field day with the three of you to interview."

Shinichi snorted. "I'm sure he will if he can manage to get a word in edgewise."

Flopping onto one of the spare beds, Shinichi rubbed a weary hand over his eyes. It was getting hard to keep his eyelids open but it seemed rather rude to just come in and go to sleep.

The magician eyed the motion with growing concern. "Didn't you sleep last night?"

"Hm…?" Shinichi blinked then smiled sheepishly. "Some, but I wanted to get the next set of makeup class work done so I wouldn't have to worry about it while we were here."

"Ah, that explains a lot." Kaito watched the detective visibly fighting off sleep for a few more seconds before shaking his head, grin softening into a fond smile. "Just go to sleep. You get too little of it as it is. I'll wake you up for breakfast tomorrow."

"Actually I should probably try to get back to my cabin earlier so they'll think I just got back late," Shinichi replied with a grimace. In all honesty between breakfast and sleep, he'd pick sleep. "I'll just set the alarm on my phone so you don't have to get up."

"You can set it if you want, though I'll probably be up anyway. I'm an early riser."

"Morning people," the detective mused, wrinkling his nose. "I'll never understand you lot."

"Hm, have you considered that you might just be getting too dependant on your coffee?"

"Of course not," Shinichi grumbled into the pillow as he pulled the blanket up to his chin. "I was _never_ a morning person."

Kaito chuckled, moving to where he'd set up his laptop. He was creating his own listings of people and their abilities for the database he'd been compiling on all the information regarding the science museum incident. The observation the doctors had made about the three types of changes in people was certainly interesting. Sitting down, he went back to work, casting the occasional glance towards the bed across the cabin where Shinichi was already fast asleep. It was odd, he mused, how the detective's presence could be both calming and distracting. Well, either way, he was glad Shinichi was here.

**TBC**

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><p><strong>A.N<strong>: ^^ I'm tired too, so I'll be going to bed now. See you next time!


	16. Mix and Match

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

* * *

><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

16: Mix and Match

Shinichi couldn't help but wonder with morbid curiosity whether Hakuba and Hattori would both be alive and intact when he got back to their cabin. The arguing had been getting pretty heated the other night. In fact, he seemed to remember seeing Yamada taking refuge in the bathroom just before he'd left. It was with great trepidation that he unlocked the cabin door and poked his head inside.

The sight that greeted him was unexpectedly…well, neat, for one thing. He'd been half expecting at least half of it to look like some kind of war zone considering the way the argument over cleanliness had been going after Hakuba had seen Hattori toss his jacket carelessly onto the end of his bed. While Hattori wasn't a particularly messy person, the more the blonde had harped on the matter the more the Osakan had decided to do the opposite. Which of course resulted in a vicious cycle that had grown to include everything else the two didn't like about each other after which cases began to be dragged into the fray. Being in each other's presence had been accentuating their differences. If that was how they were after one day, Shinichi shuddered to think what life in the cabin was going to be like by the end of the first week.

Maybe he should take Kaito up on the offer of moving into his place. The problem was that he didn't think either of his fellow detectives was quite distracted enough by each other not to notice if he up and moved out with no explanation.

Slipping inside, he made his way to his bed and sat down. He debated going back to sleep but he knew that if he did he wouldn't be up again in time for breakfast. Letting out a resigned sigh, he rummaged around for a fresh set of clothes and headed into the shower.

That was where he discovered what looked like a scorch mark marring the tiles of the wall across from the shower head. It looked new.

So maybe the miracle wasn't so much that the cabin was neat but that it hadn't been burned down to the ground.

Talk about ill omens.

X

Suzuki Sonoko was annoyed. She had only agreed to come to this stupid camp thing because her KID-sama had said he would be here. True, he had made an appearance upon their arrival, but she hadn't so much as glimpsed him since then!

She'd kept her eyes peeled but there was no sign of him anywhere. He hadn't been at dinner the night before and he didn't seem to be here for breakfast now. Didn't he plan on eating with the rest of them?

She was sure he wouldn't have left since he'd said he'd be there, but still… Well, that probably just meant he was wearing some kind of disguise. But then how was she supposed to know who he was? She couldn't impress him if she didn't know!

She scanned the dining hall again. Her eyes landed on Shinichi and she found herself wondering if he might know. After all, solving mysteries was just about the only thing he was good for (being the only thing he seemed to care about). But ugh, she so wasn't going to ask him for help. Especially not when there were several other detectives present she could ask instead. She knew several of them had apparently signed some kind of agreement about not unmasking the thief, but surely figuring out which person at camp was the thief in disguise didn't count. They wouldn't be trying to find out his real identity after all.

But she was only going to ask if she couldn't do it herself, of course.

And she was going to figure it out.

Mind made up, she turned her attention back to her breakfast.

X

Feeling the chilling weight of having eyes on him, Shinichi glanced around to see who was staring now. He thought he caught Sonoko's gaze for the briefest of moments before she looked away again. Why had she been watching him? Well, knowing her, it was probably something he was better off in the dark about.

Picking up the mug of coffee he had procured for himself, he took a sip and grimaced. They called this coffee? Colored water would be more accurate. If he'd known it was going to be like this he would have brought his own. This was going to be a long two weeks…

"Can I sit here?" a voice asked politely from across the table.

"Go ahead," Shinichi replied, giving the feeble excuse for coffee one more baleful stare, wishing it was at least hotter, before looking up and meeting the gaze of the young man who had just sat down.

The newcomer's eyes lit up and he suddenly burst into a stream of words that rushed out so quickly that Shinichi literally couldn't understand a word of it. The guy sounded quite a lot like he was trying to impersonate a machine gun.

"Uh…" Shinichi paused, wondering what he was supposed to say to that. The guy had been looking right at him so obviously the words were directed his way. Unfortunately, that was about all he could gather.

"Oh! Sorry about that," the newcomer apologized, this time at a much more coherent pace. "I keep forgetting."

"It's all right," Shinichi replied. "I take it that's why you're here?"

"Yep," he replied cheerfully. "Hey, so you're Kudo Shinichi right? The detective?"

Shinichi nodded, shifting a bit uncomfortably under the other's brightly excited staring.

"That's awesome! You know, I've read about all your cases. They're great for getting inspiration you know—oh yeah, I'm Mitsuki Soujiro. I'm a writer. There's nothing like some interesting, real life cases though to get the ideas going sometimes."

Shinichi blinked. "You…wouldn't happen to work with your sister, would you?"

"Oh, so you've heard of us then! I'm honored," he laughed, clearly delighted. "It's Sis's fault I'm here actually. She wanted to create a new character based off Kaitou KID and dragged me out to the heist so she could gather materials. But now I'm here and she wasn't affected at all. I guess that's life for you. So were you there to catch KID then? I remember you almost caught him at the Ekoda clock tower a few years back, but you didn't attend any more of his heists after that. But I guess you've been away for a while. I bet it was a big case, wasn't it? Was it—" As he talked, Mitsuki's words picked up pace and soon Shinichi had to really focus to understand what he was saying. Eventually he stopped trying and focused instead on finishing his toast as quickly as he could. Once he was done, he downed what was left of the pitiful excuse for coffee—and nearly choked as he burned his tongue and throat. What the… Clamping down on the urge to spray the scalding liquid all over the table, he stood and gathered his tray as he excused himself, eyes still watering from the pain.

Mitsuki finally paused at that, expression turning disappointed. "You're leaving already? I was hoping I could run a few ideas by you and see which one you think would make the more interesting story."

"Maybe some other time," Shinichi replied, smiling sheepishly. "I, uh, need to check the lists."

It really did feel like being at a summer camp, he mused as he read over the lists and located his name. It turned out that his group was meeting in the lodge that day. He noted with a touch of amusement that KID had been listed once in every 'influence' group. So either they had put him in a group and Kaito had added himself to all the others to confuse them, or they had simply written him down on all the lists in the hopes that he would choose one to stop by and advise. After all, everyone could tell he had gotten a good grasp of how to handle his own ability (helped along by the fact that he'd rated himself with an eleven out of ten).

Wandering over to the drink dispensers, he poured himself another cup of the dreadfully watery coffee to go before going in search of the lodge.

It turned out to be a short walk across the field from the dining hall. Squat and sturdy, it housed a scattering of sofas and chairs as well as a coffee table, a pool table, and a rather large fire place. Shinichi was the first person there so he chose an armchair near one of the windows and sat down to enjoy the peace and quiet while he could. He was sure it wouldn't be quiet for long.

As if to prove his point, Hattori chose that moment to walk through the lodge door. "Man it's cold in here!" he exclaimed the moment he crossed the threshold, rubbing at his arms to warm them. "Is the air conditioner on or something?"

"Oh, uh, sorry," Shinichi apologized, realizing belatedly that it was still getting colder.

That earned him a puzzled look from the Osakan. "What're you apologizing for? Did you turn it…" He trailed off as he noticed the temperature in the room rising rapidly to match the warmth outside. "Wait, wait, you're doing that?"

Shinichi shrugged. He still wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea that he had essentially become his own climate control.

He could see Hattori turning this new piece of information over in his mind before it clicked. "So that snowstorm everyone was freaking out about…?"

Shinichi flushed in embarrassment but nodded. "It was…a bad day…"

"Oh. Man, and I thought I had problems."

"…Thanks."

"At least you two don't have sparks messin' up your hair," a new voice announced, heralding the appearance of a woman with a veritable mane of curls. Shinichi recognized her as the lady he and Kaito had seen storming through the shops looking for hair care products. It seemed she had yet to find one that would tame her frizzing locks.

"Sparks huh? Is it useful?" Hattori asked curiously.

The woman shrugged, sitting down in an armchair. "Don't know. I haven't tried making use of it. Hell, all it's been doing is wreaking havoc on my hair. Although it did give this guy who tried to pick my pocket a nasty shock. I suppose that was useful. Problem is it shocked my boyfriend too. So what about you?"

At exactly nine o'clock the door opened again to admit a girl who looked oddly like Ran and a blond boy both detectives recognized.

"Why are _you_ here?" Hattori demanded, shooting the blonde an annoyed look. "Can't you read? Your name's not on our list."

The blonde leveled him with a flat stare. "I am aware that my name is not on the list."

"So go find your own group then."

"As you _should_ have noticed, these are study groups," Hakuba replied stiffly. "As I have nothing that would be of any use to the others of my particular party, I do not see any reason to waste mine and their time."

"So you come waste ours instead?" Hattori asked sourly.

"He's here because I asked him to come," the girl cut in before either detective could say anything else. She leveled Heiji with a serious and slightly defiant gaze. "Is that all right with you?"

The Osakan blinked and sat back, apparently starting to feel embarrassed. "Uh, I—it's all right."

The girl smiled and introduced herself to the room in general as Nakamori Aoko, daughter of Nakamori-keibu. The lady with the sparking hair gave her name as Mia Salinger. A graduate student in linguistics, she had come to Japan from America because she wished to focus her studies on Asian languages. A few minutes later one of the KID task force officers poked his head into the lodge, looked around as though afraid something might be lying in wait for him, then stepped all the way in and found himself a seat. When asked, he told them his name was Akazawa Shota.

The last to join them was a grim looking young man called Haru who said that he was waiting on a doctor appointment but wanted to get a feel for how other people were doing. It wasn't until he turned to Shinichi at a moment when no one else was looking and winked that the detective realized it was Kaito.

"Um, so…what now?" Aoko asked of the room at large. "Everyone's here."

"Well, if anyone here's actually been practicing, they could maybe give the rest of us a few tips," Mia suggested. "And I'm sure we all have stories to tell."

X

Kazuha watched the doctor seated across from her nervously. She was glad this doctor was a woman, but it only made it slightly easier to talk to her.

The doctor, Doctor Jing, seemed to sense something of her thoughts for she offered the girl a reassuring smile. "You don't have to tell me anything that makes you uncomfortable. I'm just here to try and help you figure out what kinds of changes may have occurred in you. It is also possible that nothing happened. We just want to be sure."

"I know," Kazuha replied, relaxing a little as her gaze flickered to the window. "Um, could you…open the window? Please?"

"Of course." The doctor rose and opened the window, letting in a warm gust of summer wind.

Kazuha let out a sigh of relief as the wind swirled in around her, taking the tension from her muscles. "Thank you."

"Does it bother you?" Doctor Jing asked curiously as she returned to her seat. "Having the window closed, I mean."

"I… Yeah," Kazuha admitted, gaze falling to rest on the tabletop before her. "It feels dead when the windows are closed."

"Dead?" the doctor repeated, puzzled. "That's an interesting choice of word."

Kazuha had to laugh at that. "I guess it is. It's hard to explain though. It's like…everything's too still—trapped. It can't go anywhere. But when I'm outside or when the windows are open everything just feels…_right_. It's warm and free and _alive_."

"I see." Doctor Jing mulled the information over for a moment, her eyes following the way the girl's hair was fluttering in a slight wind that only seemed to be blowing around her. "Have you always felt this way?"

"No, it started recently. Since—since the museum…"

"And did you notice anything else?"

Kazuha shook her head then made a face. "My friend Heiji keeps insisting he saw me walking without stepping on the ground though. But I've, well, I've tried it a few times on my own," she admitted, blushing faintly, "and I'm pretty sure I can't float."

"Have you thought that perhaps it wasn't exactly floating that your friend saw you doing?"

She stared. "What else could it be?"

"Let me put that another way. You, Toyama-san, seem to have developed some kind of connection to the air around you. I am only theorizing, but that is how it looks to me. I don't know if you've noticed, but the breeze in here has been centered almost entirely upon yourself. It would also explain what you said about the air feeling dead in a closed off room and why you feel more comfortable in the open."

Kazuha considered this suggestion. It made a kind of sense, even if it was a weird kind of sense, and at least it didn't sound dangerous in the way some of the other things she'd heard did. That took a weight off her chest that she'd been trying not to think about.

"Do you have any advice?" she asked finally, meeting the doctor's gaze.

"Well, I personally think it would be best to explore the possibilities—get to know your situation better in whatever way you find comfortable. Talk to the others and see what they've learned. I know several people have told me they can control their changes, but how seems to vary from person to person."

Kazuha nodded. "All right, I'll try that. Thank you."

"You're welcome." The doctor smiled. "If anything starts to bother you, come see me again and we'll see what we can do."

X

Shinichi stretched and inhaled deeply as he stood outside the lodge. They had indeed spent a few hours trading stories before the meeting had adjourned so that they could each go their separate ways and experiment. It seemed like people all around the camp were beginning to experiment. Aoko had left with Hakuba in search of some hopefully cheap glassware and Hattori had gone to meet Kazuha and see how her doctor's appointment had gone. Kaito had also left, probably to see how the other groups were doing. For his own part, he wasn't entirely sure where to begin. It would be good, he supposed, if he could get a better grasp of how to control the ability the wretched smoke had dumped on him, but he wasn't sure where to begin. Knowing how to activate it by choice and learning how to stop it from working on its own didn't strike him as the same thing, but how did you go about practicing to _not_ let something happen?

He was still puzzling over this when he saw a transparent man go running by in a panic.

"Takagi-keiji!" he called out after the policeman.

The man spun around at the sound of his name. "K—Kudo-kun!"

"What's going on?" Shinichi asked. "Do you need help?"

"It's one of the other officers," Takagi-keiji explained, looking torn between panic and bewilderment. "He's gotten himself stuck halfway into a wall and we're not sure how to get him out."

At any other time or place, Shinichi would have been surprised, but somehow here and now he just couldn't be.

"I'll come with you," he offered. Takagi nodded and started moving again.

They arrived at a red, brick building to find several people crowded around a section of the wall where the head, shoulders, and right arm of a man was protruding from the bricks like some bizarre wall decoration. It was like he'd simply sprouted from the bricks. There were no cracks or seams of any kind. No one seemed to want to get too close to him but none of them could tear their eyes away. The man himself wore the expression of one teetering on the verge of terror who was struggling with all his might to cling to the last vestiges of his composure.

"I couldn't find any tools that might be able to break him out," Takagi reported as they drew closer and several people glanced their way.

"I'm not really sure that would have worked anyway," one woman remarked, frowning. "I mean look, he didn't displace anything. It's like he's actually melded with it."

That statement earned her a horrified glare from the man in the wall.

"What are we going to do then?" Takagi asked the gathering in general as he began to pace. "We can't leave him here."

"Uh, Takagi-keiji, you're disappearing again."

Takagi paused, looked down at himself, and blushed. Closing his eyes, he frowned in concentration and became slightly more visible again.

"Obviously the best solution would be for him to walk himself back out again," a familiar voice replied. Shinichi glanced over to see Mitsuki the writer examining the officer in the wall with great interest. "Considering he walked himself into it to begin with, surely he can get out of it too."

"Don't you think I'm trying?" the officer snapped, opting to seek security in irritation rather than giving in to fear. "I don't know how!"

"Do you remember how you were feeling or what you were thinking when you first walked into the wall?" Shinichi asked, making his way up to the man in question.

The officer frowned. "Not really. I wasn't paying attention. I didn't even know I'd gone through the wall until I heard someone call me and turned around. I saw how shocked everyone was and that's when I noticed where I was. And I was stuck."

"Then maybe the key is that you didn't think you were walking into an obstacle."

"That makes sense," Mitsuki agreed. "So all you have to do is believe you aren't stuck anymore."

"But I _am_ stuck!"

"Calm down," one of the others admonished. "That's the kind of attitude that's going to have you stuck there for the rest of your life."

And that was why Shinichi spent the next few hours helping the group talk the police officer out of the wall. Several of them had to go bring food from the dining hall for lunch, though it was unanimously agreed that the man in the wall probably shouldn't test what would happen if he ate while still melded to the bricks.

X

KID had actually made an appearance at dinner, causing an excited uproar from his fans. He even put on a short magic show for their benefit (or maybe for his own entertainment), large portions of which involved the dinner foods themselves. No one was going to forget the roast chicken that leapt up as a live chicken and ran all the way down the length of the table it had been on before reverting back into its roasted form any time soon. Shinichi noticed that Hakuba had turned his head away from the spectacle and his expression seemed to be warring between chagrinned and bemused. He remembered Kaito saying that Hakuba seemed to understand the speech of birds now and he wondered what, if anything, the chicken had been saying to give the blond detective such a peculiar expression (for his part, Hakuba was torn between groaning and laughing as he listened to the chicken burbling "Where am I? Where am I? Where am I?" over and over again in a panicked warble—he so did not want to be hearing this, and he wanted even less to find it funny, but even so…).

Shinichi watched Kaito working his magic, hiding a smile in his coffee cup. Kaito could be overbearingly arrogant at times, but he really did have the skills to back it up. It was…kind of nice actually, to just sit back and watch Kaito perform. True, part of him would always wonder about the hows and whys, but it was getting easier to let those thoughts slip to the back of his mind and just watch.

**TBC**

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><p><strong>A.N<strong>: My sister cracked up at the chicken scene when she was editing for me so suddenly that it actually gave me a shock. ^^ It amused me, but I guess she found it a lot funnier than I did. Anyhow, until next time!


	17. Wishes

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

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><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

17: Wishes

Being KID twenty four seven was much more tiring than Kaito had anticipated. Then again maybe he should have expected it. After all, he was supposed to be the elusive, mysterious phantom thief. Waltzing around in broad daylight in full costume therefore left him with the constant, nagging feeling that he was being careless even as he enjoyed the challenge of it. On the other hand it was obviously driving Hakuba and the other KID task force officers present totally bonkers, which was definitely a plus. Watching them twitch every time he made an appearance in costume was hilarious.

Still, if Shinichi hadn't been around, he thought he would probably have been feeling a lot more annoyed and a lot less amused. Having someone you could talk to freely could really make a difference. And he would probably have chosen to hang around just to spend time with Shinichi. He had plans after all—plans which he'd realized he had to rethink. He'd been dropping hints, but they were all going right over the detective's head (which was actually really funny, but not helpful). Granted, he knew Shinichi was a bit preoccupied with everything else that was happening, but the matter was occupying Kaito's mind more and more lately since Shinichi had started taking refuge in his cabin every evening after dinner (it seemed prolonged exposure to one another was not improving Hakuba and Hattori's dispositions in regards to each other).

"I have no idea how they can manage to find so much to disagree about," Shinichi sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to stop the forming headache. His other hand reached automatically for the cup of coffee he'd brought with him. "I mean seriously, if they dislike each other so much you'd think they could just mutually agree not to talk."

Kaito laughed, making a mental note to slip a bug into their cabin—it would be good entertainment he was sure. "People don't work that way Tantei-kun."

Shinichi snorted. "I'm sure a psychologist could write a whole book with them—how to reduce two intelligent detectives into bickering grade school kids, no chemicals needed. I'm surprised the cabin hasn't burned down yet."

"Perhaps all this arguing is a blessing then," Kaito suggested, grinning at Shinichi's disbelieving look. "It means Tantei-han is getting lots of practice not burning things down when he's upset."

"I suppose that's one way to look at it. From what he's told me though I think it takes him a lot of effort to actually start fires. And it only works when he's really angry."

"Probably a good thing, all considered."

"It's odd though. I thought at first that how strongly each of us was affected might be related to how much exposure we had to the smoke, but Hattori was right in the thick of it too but apparently wasn't affected very strongly."

"I'd say it probably depends on the person, like who was and wasn't affected. After all, I didn't get more than a breath or two myself."

"I suppose so. It doesn't seem fair though does it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, some of us were affected in a useful way, or at least in a way that doesn't really change our lives at all, but others have to change their entire way of living. And then there are the people like Manami-san…"

The magician sighed, tapping idly at the keys of his laptop. "There are some things in life we can't control. It might not be fair, but that's just the way it is. But I'd say we should be thankful that it wasn't just plain fatal for us all." He chuckled at a memory from the other day. "Did you know one of the officers can now breathe underwater? He can't swim, so he's pretty happy about it. Ecstatic really."

"I think I might have seen him. Was he the guy who was running in and out of the lake all afternoon laughing?"

"That's the one."

"I can only imagine what your heists are going to be like now," the detective mused, shaking his head. "One of your task force's other officers can apparently walk through walls."

"Really?" Kaito perked up, looking interested.

"Yeah, he got stuck the other day. I think it scared him."

"I take it from the past tense that he's not stuck anymore?"

"No, we talked him out of it. Mitsuki-san told me they've been trying to get him to actually practice but so far he refuses to try. He's afraid next time he won't be able to get out."

"What a shame," the magician said, feigning an air of deep regret. "No sense of adventure."

"Somehow I doubt that's the way he sees it."

"Perhaps that's his problem then. It seems to me that a lot of these abilities operate on willpower," he added, tone growing serious. "Well, the ones that can be manipulated anyway. Willpower, imagination, and emotion."

"Kind of like everything else people do," Shinichi agreed. "For our particular group I guess it's like having another limb with different functions and a new range of motion."

"That's an interesting way to put it," the magician mused, grinning across at him with something that almost seemed to be pride. "So how's your practice been going? Learn anything new? You were trying to walk on the lake weren't you?"

Shinichi blushed. "You saw that?"

"Yep, including the part when you fell in," Kaito replied cheerfully, holding back a laugh. "But really, you got at least twenty steps in. I'd say that was pretty good."

Shinichi shrugged, blush deepening a shade. "I was trying to come up with more useful ways to use it. And I was hoping that exercising it would help decrease how much it acts up on its own."

"Has it been doing that a lot?"

Shinichi waved a hand vaguely. "So-so. What about you? Have you actually been practicing or have you just been spending all your time watching the rest of us?"

"I can do both at the same time."

"And play with your fans while you're at it."

"Of course. I've even had five different people ask if I'd take them as apprentices. Can you believe that?"

"This camp _is_ full of your fans," Shinichi pointed out. "It's hardly surprising that some of them would be aspiring magicians."

"Hmm, what if I told you they didn't all want to be magicians?"

"I'd say you'd better have said no. There are enough criminals running around as it is."

"Aw, are you worried you detectives won't be able to handle it?"

Shinichi rolled his eyes. "No. I'm afraid there won't be enough room in prison."

For some reason the magician seemed to find this vastly hilarious. Shinichi watched him laugh for a few moments, nonplussed, then decided he didn't really want to know.

"Don't worry," Kaito said when he'd calmed down a bit, flashing Shinichi a wink. "We kaitou are very territorial. I don't plan on creating my own competition."

They lapsed into a comfortable silence before Shinichi let out a quiet sigh.

"I should probably get going," he said reluctantly, eyeing the clock on the wall. It was getting late.

Kaito stood too and followed him to the door. "Would you like some company?"

"No, that's all right. It's not as though it's all that far away. I'm going to enjoy the peace and quiet and hope the war's over by the time I get there."

X

Ran glanced again at the cabin number to make sure she was at the right place. She'd had to ask around for the number but as it turned out Hattori was in the same cabin so all she'd had to do was ask Kazuha. Raising her hand, she knocked then waited.

A few moments later the cabin door opened, but it wasn't Shinichi standing on the other side. Nor was it Hattori or Hakuba. Instead she found herself looking at a boy about her own age with dark hair and eyes who was blinking at her in surprise from behind a pair of oval glasses.

"Can I help you?" he inquired politely.

"My name is Mouri Ran," she introduced herself. "I was wondering if Shinichi was here."

"I'm sorry, he's not here right now," the stranger replied.

"Oh, um, do you know when he might be back?"

"I'm not really sure," he replied, scratching the back of his head and looking honestly sorry. "Kudo-san doesn't spend much time here. I think he might be going somewhere more private to practice. I'm sorry I couldn't be much help."

"No, no, it's not your fault," Ran assured him. "It's not like it's urgent or anything. I just thought I'd drop by and say hello since I haven't seen him since we got here."

"Well, if you want, you could wait here a little," he offered. "If you're not busy."

Ran considered the suggestion then nodded. "I'll do that." It wasn't as though she had much to do herself. She moved to sit down to one side of the step leading up to the cabin so that she wouldn't be in anyone's way. To her surprise the cabin's current occupant disappeared back inside only for a moment before returning with a notebook and sitting down beside her.

"You don't have to keep me company," she told him.

"I guess not, but I'd feel weird staying inside when I know you're waiting out here by yourself. Besides, the weather's really nice today. I've had enough of being inside in the dark for one day."

"In the dark?" Ran repeated, glancing back over her shoulder at the shuttered cabin windows. Come to think of it, the cabin had looked rather dark indeed when she'd glimpsed it earlier.

"Yeah, I, uh, well, it seems like I can see a lot better in the dark now. I was just testing." He laughed and offered her his hand. "I just realized I never introduced myself. My name is Yamada Koji."

Ran shook the proffered hand. "It's nice to meet you."

X

Aoko frowned as she stared down at the glittering fragments of glass strewn on the ground around her feet. There went glass number eight. Thankfully one of the convenient things about being packed off for the safety of the city was that all she'd had to do to get a supply of glass cups was talk to one of the doctors. Letting out a quiet sigh, she knelt and began gathering the fragments into the paper bag she'd brought along just for the purpose. They clinked softly as they were dropped into the brown depths of the bag to join their brethren. At the rate things were going it seemed she would have to learn never to raise her voice again lest she wish to spend the rest of her life paying for broken windows, mirrors, and other such fragile things.

She just didn't get it though. According to Saguru breaking glass with sound relied on certain frequencies and durations, but in her case none of that seemed to matter. All she had to do was shout at it. It crossed her mind that maybe it wasn't just the sound that mattered, and maybe that was the key to stopping the breakages, but what that additional factor could be she couldn't imagine. She had considered that perhaps it was her emotions—several of the other people she'd talked to had mentioned emotions playing a key role in their assorted conditions and how they changed—but she didn't know how to test that. All she was feeling these days was frustrated.

Well, maybe Saguru would have other ideas. Or perhaps she should go talk to one of the doctors.

Picking up the bag, she turned and headed in search of the blond detective. He would have come with her but earlier that day they had decided to eat lunch outside at the picnic tables and run into Kudo-kun. She wasn't sure how it had happened but the conversation had somehow wandered onto the topic of Sherlock Holmes and stuck. It seemed the rumors about Kudo-kun being a huge Holmes fan were true. Saguru didn't get to discuss his favorite fictional character with many people so Aoko had decided to let him talk and go practice on her own for the day though she'd promised to come find him before dinner.

It touched her that he was willing to spend so much time helping her. But sometimes it made her worry that maybe she was taking up too much of his time especially lately with these problems. But when she'd brought up the suggestion that he could get the okay from the doctors and go back home early he'd insisted on staying.

A frown ghosted across her face as she paused in her steps. It felt…kind of like she was being watched. The feeling had been coming and going all day today and it was really starting to get on her nerves. She glanced back over her shoulder but there was no one there. Shaking her head, she turned her steps back towards the center of camp.

She reached the picnic tables to find that Saguru had already left. Glancing around, she spotted the detective from Osaka eating ice cream with a girl her own age and made a beeline for them.

"Excuse me, but have you seen Saguru?"

"He's talking to Kudo about Holmes," Hattori replied, making a face.

"Still?"

"Yep. If you ask me they're crazy."

"Oh, well, do you know where they went though?"

"I think they went back into the dining hall to get drinks," the girl spoke up, offering Aoko a smile. "They'll probably be back soon. You can sit with us while you wait if you want."

"Thanks," she replied, taking the proffered seat.

"No problem. You know, you look a lot like a friend of ours."

"Would her name happen to be Mouri Ran?"

The two Osakans traded surprised looks before nodding. "Do you know her?"

"We actually met not that long ago…"

A few minutes later Aoko found herself laughing as the girl, Kazuha, described her own first meeting with their mutual friend. And it was kind of surprising, she noted, that both of them as well as Hattori-kun were all policemen's children. Once Saguru got back, it would be all four of them. What would Kaito think of that, she mused. She would have to remember to tell him about it when they all went home.

X

When Shinichi first caught sight of Ran sitting outside his cabin, he almost turned around and hightailed it out of there. What was he supposed to say to her? Sure she had stopped avoiding him at school and they traded hellos like normal people did, but they hadn't really _talked_ by themselves since that day at the park.

But if she was here now, she had probably come looking for him.

So, taking a deep breath and bracing himself, he walked closer. As he approached, he realized that Yamada was sitting on Ran's other side and they were talking about what sounded like one of the karate tournaments Ran had participated in. From what he caught of the conversation, it seemed Yamada had actually covered that tournament for his school paper.

Ran sounded like she was in a good mood too. That put Shinichi's nerves a bit more at ease. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

Yamada spotted him before he could call out a greeting and smiled. "Oh, hello Kudo-san. Mouri-san was waiting for you."

Ran turned to look at him at that and he thought he caught a hint of uncertainty in her gaze as she stood. "Shinichi."

"Ran," he greeted in return, trying to find some hint of what she'd come to tell him in her face. "Um, did you need something?"

Off to the side, Yamada glanced between them than quietly excused himself and retreated into the cabin.

Ran looked down at her feet for a moment before straightening, a slightly strained and anxious smile forcing its way onto her face. "I was just… Well, I thought maybe we could go for a walk or something. You know, do some catching up."

Shinichi blinked, somewhat taken aback. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and swallowed. "I… All right."

The smile she shot him then looked relieved, and he found himself wondering if maybe things really were going to improve.

X

It had, Kaito reflected, been a bit of a dull day. He had originally planned on seeing if he could borrow (kidnap) Shinichi for the day and go somewhere more private that wasn't indoors but when he'd located the detective after lunch he'd been busily engaged in a discussion about everything Sherlock Holmes with—surprise, surprise—Hakuba. It looked like it was going to be a long talk. He was just surprised it hadn't happened sooner. After all, Hakuba was obsessed with Holmes to what the magician would consider an unnatural degree even if he didn't light up from the inside the way Shinichi did whenever the topic came up. Shinichi's interest went without saying. He had spent a half hour listening in on the conversation just because it amused him to see Shinichi in excited-fan mode but he much preferred being the person Tantei-kun was talking to and really, listening to Hakuba drone was annoying so he'd left in search of other entertainment.

Since he knew exactly where Hakuba was, he decided he'd look for Aoko. It had taken some searching but he found her eventually in a clearing some distance into the woods. She looked rather pensive but with the situation being what it was he couldn't do anything but keep an eye on her. It was frustrating but he'd known before coming that it would be like this.

It was times like these that everything seemed hell bent on reminding him that they weren't quite the same friends they used to be. They had drifted apart, and it was entirely because of his own choices.

It was, he supposed, really rather ironic.

He was a thief who stole treasures worth more than most people had ever dreamed of having. And he was a thief who returned those very same treasures because despite their value they were worth nothing to him in the personal sense and everything to someone else. If he'd been a normal thief, he would probably be one hell of a rich person by now, but he wasn't because even though he was a criminal he wasn't the kind that had forsaken what it meant to be human. Besides, riches didn't mean anything to him.

But there were times when he couldn't help but wish for a treasure of his own that he could keep and hold and never have to give back or worry about losing. A treasure to be his and his alone. Maybe it was a selfish wish, but surely it wasn't that much to ask for.

Of course it wasn't, he decided. And even if the world disagreed there had to be _some_ benefits to being a phantom thief, even one with ethics. Some people might be content with sitting around and waiting to see what the world had in store for them. He wasn't one of them.

Dropping soundlessly out of the tree he'd been perched in, he adjusted his appearance and headed back into the main activity areas of the camp complex. He reached the picnic tables to find that Shinichi was no longer there. Hakuba on the other hand was. So apparently the Holmes convention of two had ended. He was just leaving when a hand caught his arm and a girl's voice exclaimed, "Hey, can I ask you a few questions?"

He glanced around to find himself face to face with the Suzuki girl. He pasted on a puzzled expression. "What?"

"My name is Suzuki Sonoko," the girl introduced herself. "You wouldn't happen to be a magician would you?"

He tilted his head slightly to one side. "No," he lied. "Is that all?"

"Oh, well, do you know anyone else here who is?"

"I believe there are several," he replied, watching the way her eyes gleamed.

She smiled brightly at him. "I don't suppose you could tell me any of their names or where I could find them?"

Oi, she couldn't really be trying to…

"No, I'm sorry. If you ask around, I'm sure you'll find them."

"That's what I've been doing," she replied, staring hard at his face for a few more moments before apparently making up her mind and stepping back. "Well, thanks anyway."

He nodded and continued walking, mentally sending his condolences to all the aspiring magicians at the camp. He had the feeling they were going to be seeing a lot of the Suzuki girl in the very near future.

He was so glad he had decided not to be one of them.

It wasn't until dinnertime that he saw Shinichi again. He caught the detective's eye from his seat and smiled in satisfaction as Shinichi began making his way over.

"Good evening Kudo-san," he greeted, eyes glinting in amusement as Shinichi rolled his eyes before answering in kind. He was just thinking that this was going to be fun when they were quite suddenly joined by Mitsuki Soujiro. The writer appeared in one of the formerly empty seats so abruptly it looked like he'd materialized out of thin air.

"Hey," he greeted them both with his usual enthusiasm. "So how have you been?"

"Fine," Shinichi barely managed to say before the writer was off again telling them all about the strange things he'd seen that day—then all about the novel he'd been reading the other night, the ideas that novel had given him, the ideas that those ideas had given him, the cases he'd read about that those ideas reminded him of, and so on and so forth.

Both detective and thief could only listen and wonder how in the world he was managing to eat at the same time (they could both see the food disappearing from his tray bit by bit despite the nonstop stream of words). Kaito was sorely tempted to just trample in on the not-conversation, but the character he'd created for his main disguise at this camp was a grim, quiet fellow. Why had he done that again? Oh yeah, for a change of pace. But that meant it would be out of character to barge in on the conversation.

Okay, now he was getting annoyed.

He stabbed one of the pieces of beef on his plate with a little more vigor than was strictly necessary before settling down to the business of eating.

X

Shinichi was starting to wish the ground would swallow him whole as Mitsuki followed him out of the dining hall showing no signs of taking his leave any time soon. It wasn't that he disliked Mitsuki-san or anything, but the more he listened to the man talk the more something about the guy unsettled him. It was in the way he talked about real life cases like they were some kind of fictional work. They were apparently a source of inspiration for the writer—which Shinichi could understand, after all, inspiration had to come from somewhere—but his blasé manner seemed to overlook the fact that these were real murders he was talking about. Ones where real people had lost their lives, sometimes in very gruesome ways. Even though Shinichi knew he didn't mean anything by it, it still felt wrong. Disrespectful. He had tried subtly pointing out the fact that these were real people's lives (or rather deaths) but Mitsuki hadn't seemed to pick up on the hints at all. He was the kind of person who could carry on a conversation entirely on his own regardless of his audience's responsiveness. Although that may partly have been the fault of the fact that when he got into a topic he forgot to keep it slow and wound up talking so fast that by the time his audience had come up with something to say the topic had already moved on too far to make the thought worth saying.

Finally Shinichi gave up on trying to follow what the writer was saying and just let the words tumble past his ears as they wished. Mitsuki didn't seem to notice. Shinichi picked up his pace. Maybe once they got to the cabins he could make an excuse and slip away. Or maybe he could introduce the guy to one of the other detectives and let them entertain him for a while. Surely the writer would welcome a fresh pair of ears.

They were just approaching the first row of cabins when Mitsuki cut himself off mid sentence when he walked smack into nothing. Startled, he staggered back and began to rub at his nose. What the… A quick look around revealed no obstacles, and there was no one anywhere in sight. That included the detective he'd been talking to. That was…odd. Confused and still nursing his throbbing nose, he went in search of an ice pack.

Shinichi, who had long since tuned out of the conversation, didn't notice that he was now walking alone until he caught sight of someone waving at him. Recognizing Haru—or rather Kaito in disguise—he picked up his pace.

"Did you need something?" he asked, taking a moment to look around and see if they were being watched.

"I was just wondering if you'd like to go down to the lake this evening instead of hanging out in the cabins," the magician replied with a grin. "And you can stop checking the bushes. No one can see or hear us right now."

Shinichi shook his head in bemused amazement. "I still can't believe you can do that. So now you can walk around without being seen too?"

"Well, not quite," the magician admitted. "Actually moving these force fields isn't quite that easy. They're perimeters. I can set them and dictate their properties, but they are still, by nature, set boundaries. So it I want them to move I have to keep making new ones and taking down old ones at just the right time to make it look like it's moving—kind of like those action sequence flip books. It can be a real pain. Having to do that and calculate how to bend the light not to be seen at every step at the same time just isn't worth it. I have better ways to not be seen."

Shinichi nodded in understanding, a little surprised that the magician was being so frank about something that might be considered sensitive information. They really had come a long way…

"So how about it?" Kaito prodded.

"Hm?"

"Would you like to go down to the lake with me?"

"All right. Would you mind if I go get a book from my cabin first?"

"You spent all day talking to Hakuba and you still want to read?" the magician asked incredulously before shaking his head. "Never mind. I'll go on ahead then."

Shinichi didn't see the connection between talking to Hakuba and wanting or not wanting to read. Oh well, it wasn't really important anyway.

He got back to the cabin to find that Hakuba and Hattori weren't biting each others' heads off and therefore Yamada hadn't gone into hiding. This might have had something to do with the fact that both Kazuha and Nakamori-san were there as well. The two girls were actually sitting on either side of Ran. All six occupants of the room were seated in a circle on the cabin floor with poker cards in their hands. They looked up as he entered and a spattering of greetings ran around the room.

"You wanna play?" Hattori asked, making a move to scoot aside and make another seat in the circle, but Shinichi waved him back.

"No, that's all right. I was going to go for a walk. Maybe later."

"Where do you keep going anyway?" the Osakan asked, eyeing him speculatively.

"Around," Shinichi answered with a vague gesture to indicate the camp in general before bidding them all a good evening and making his escape. Hopefully Hattori would have other things on his mind by the time he got back. But, just in case he didn't, he should probably think up a cover story before going back. He felt a little guilty that he was actually planning lies to tell later, but it was undeniably safer that way. He valued his friendship with the thief too much to do anything that might put it in jeopardy.

He was surprised when he arrived at the lake to see Kaito not wearing a disguise. The lake was a little too far from the cabins for most people to want to venture that far in the evening though—and even if they did they would probably stay on the bank closer to camp instead of circling around to the other side where they were now—so it probably wouldn't be an issue. And, well…he preferred it when Kaito wasn't wearing a mask.

"That took longer than I expected," the magician said when he saw him.

"The cabins aren't very big. Navigating around six people to get something takes a little time."

"Six?" Kaito raised an eyebrow at that. "Does one of your roommates duplicate?"

Shinichi shot him an incredulous look but as soon as the impossibility of the idea came it was totally mauled to death by recent experiences who loudly proclaimed that it could very well be true. "No," he said instead, picking a patch of grass to sit down on. "Kazuha, Nakamori-san, and Ran were playing cards with them."

"Mouri-san too huh?" Kaito dropped onto the ground beside him. "So how is she?"

"She's all right. We talked for a while before dinner."

"Really? So what did you talk about?"

"Well…not much actually…" It had been a very carefully casual conversation. "We actually ended up talking about college. Ran's thinking about following in her mother's footsteps and going into law." He shook his head in bemusement. "I never expected that. She's never seemed very interested in law." Although he had to admit he'd never really known what she wanted to be. Heck, had he ever even thought about it? It was a bit unsettling to think that he hadn't…

"What about you?"

He glanced around. "What?"

The magician flashed him an amused grin. "I asked what you were thinking—you know, about studying."

"Oh." Shinichi turned his gaze back towards the lake. "Well…I was…actually thinking about maybe studying medicine."

"Medicine?" Kaito repeated in surprise. He'd been expecting something legal related. Or maybe forensics. "What, you're not planning to be a detective anymore?"

"Of course I am," Shinichi replied in a 'how can you even think of suggesting such a thing' kind of tone. "Medical knowledge is extremely helpful for detective work especially in homicide cases. And, well, I run into a lot of murders at around the same time they happen," he added, turning a bit red and looking away. "If I learn more, I might actually be able to save some of the victims instead of just figuring out how and why they died." All considered the emergency knowledge he already had had certainly come in handy on occasion. More in depth knowledge could only help. "What about you?"

"Well, since there's no major for aspiring magicians, and since I doubt they could teach me anything useful anyway, I thought I might look into programming, or maybe electrical engineering. It could be useful." He shot the detective a teasing grin. "You know, seeing as security these days is getting so high tech."

To his surprise, Shinichi laughed. "Then you might as well add architecture and physics to your list."

"Hey, you can never know too much," the magician replied with his own laugh.

"That's true," the detective agreed, drawing in a deep breath of the night air and letting it out in a long, slow breath. It was warm but not too much so. Somewhere in the grass insects were chirping away at each other, their voices blending with the soft rustle of tree leaves. Before them the lake lay still and dark with the moon cutting a brilliantly sharp shape upon its glassy surface. It really was a beautiful night. It had been a long time since he'd just sat back and looked at the world like this, he thought.

Kaito watched the detective out of the corner of his eye. It seemed to him that the detective looked truly content at that moment. And it set the frustrated irritation that had been nagging at him on and off all day to rest. For now all that mattered was that they were here.

"Hey Shinichi."

"Hm?"

"If you could wish for anything in the world right now, what would you wish for?"

The detective looked up from the book he'd just opened with a puzzled frown. "What?"

"What would you wish for?" the magician repeated. "If it could be anything."

"I…don't know," Shinichi replied after a long moment's thought. "I can't really think of anything. Besides, dreams are things you work for. If you could get everything you wanted just by wishing, it wouldn't mean as much because you wouldn't have earned it. The effort you put in to getting what you wish for is part of what gives it its value."

Kaito blinked then laughed. "I suppose that is one way to think about it. But I wasn't thinking about those kinds of wishes."

"Well, you were the one who said anything…"

The magician heaved an exaggerated sigh. "You're ruining the atmosphere here Tantei-kun."

Now Shinichi was just confused. "What are you talking about now?"

Kaito only shook his head. "Nothing, nothing. Can I kiss you?"

The question came so suddenly and in such a casual tone that it took Shinichi a moment to register exactly what he'd just heard. When it finally sank in he flushed dark red and stared. Had he heard that right?

Kaito waited a few moments but the detective seemed to have frozen. Well, he hadn't said no, the magician reasoned. So he leaned forward. Blue eyes immediately zeroed in on him. Blue met indigo and held. He waited a fraction of a second to see if Shinichi would pull away. When he made no move to do so, Kaito closed the last few millimeters of distance between them.

**TBC**

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><p><strong>A.N<strong>: Whew, that was harder than I anticipated—longer too. Anyhow, updates may come a little slower from now on, but I'll try to keep it within two week periods. Thanks for reading and see you next time! ^_^


	18. Testing the Waters

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

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><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

18: Testing the Waters

Shinichi spent almost all of the following day in a daze. He couldn't get the previous evening out of his head. He had wondered very briefly whether it was all some kind of joke, but he knew Kaito wouldn't do that. The magician might be a prankster, but even he wouldn't play around with something so serious just for kicks.

Shinichi hadn't even thought about dating since he'd realized that he and Ran wasn't going to happen. There were too many other things to think about. And, well, his life was just too unpredictable. He knew he had a tendency to find crime more often than was normal and trouble followed him like a faithful pet. It wouldn't be fair to inflict that upon anyone else.

Heck, Kaito's own situation was hardly any simpler. He was, after all, the Kaitou KID.

There were so many reasons that this was a bad idea, but when Kaito had looked at him with earnest, indigo eyes and asked him to at least give it a try he hadn't been able to say no.

Hadn't really wanted to.

In the end he'd said he'd think about it. But he hadn't objected when Kaito had put an arm around him and he might have leaned into the embrace a little when they'd started talking about other things.

Truth be told he really did like the magician. He hadn't considered the idea of being anything other than friends, but thinking about it now he didn't really have any objections. But he couldn't help but wonder if perhaps this was a side effect of the both of them having been so isolated for so long from others by the lies and the secrets so that they couldn't help but want to cling to the first person they had shared it all with who could really understand. Such a reason would be shaky ground at best for a relationship.

He supposed that meant that what he was really afraid of was that it would all go wrong like it had with Ran and he would lose someone who had come to be one of the closest friends he'd ever had.

He had woken up shivering despite everyone else's complaints that it was a really hot day. Hattori had given him a weird look when he'd pulled on a thick jacket but he'd ignored it. The jacket wasn't even really helping all that much. Halfway to the dining hall however he had to go back to put the jacket away as he was now sweating and wishing he had a smoothie.

By the time he got back to the dining hall it was beginning to feel like he was swimming through hot water. A vaguely nauseous feeling had crept up inside his stomach and his head felt full of fluff. He'd gotten a glass of ice water when he got to the dining hall only to watch as every last ice cube vanished before his eyes in a matter of seconds. Nonplussed but somehow not surprised, he set the glass aside and glared as the cubes reappeared like they were mocking him.

"Whoa, did you make those?"

He looked up to see Hattori sitting down across the table from him with a tray heaped high with food. "No, I didn't."

"But I just saw—"

"They made themselves," Shinichi snapped before the Osakan could finish, shooting the cubes another sour look.

Hattori was giving him a funny look again. "Are you sure you're all right?"

Heaving a mental sigh, Shinichi recollected himself (he knew he was being grumpy, it wasn't Hattori's fault that it turned out his personal hot-flash apparently extended beyond his immediate self). "I'm fine Hattori."

The Osakan detective eyed him for another moment before letting the matter drop. "If you say so. Anyhow, I was kinda wondering if you could help Kazuha and me with something…"

"What is it?"

"Well, you see…" Hattori scratched at the back of his head as he glanced down at his food. "She's kinda been having trouble figuring out how to handle things. I don't think she really wants to, but she won't be able to get the approval to leave until she does. So I was thinking it might help if we tried a different approach."

Shinichi nodded thoughtfully. "What did you have in mind?"

Hattori's face broke out into a grin. "Frisbees."

"So you want to make it some kind of game," Shinichi translated.

"Yep. I thought it'd be a good way to practice and since we'll be having fun at the same time it might feel like less pressure. It'll also give everyone a chance to see how everyone else is doing and maybe get some input."

"That's true. Have you asked anyone else yet?"

"Not yet," Hattori admitted.

"You could put a notice on the bulletin," he suggested. "You'd reach more people that way."

"You know, that's not a bad idea. I'll be right back." That said, Hattori hopped off of his seat and ran off, leaving his tray still half covered in food.

Shinichi watched him go for a moment before making another bid for his water. This time it remained unchanged and he gratefully downed half of it in one swallow. What he wouldn't give right now for a good mystery. Not a murder—that would be stupid—but a nice puzzle he could put his mind to. Something that had right answers that could be found if a person thought hard enough.

X

"Satou-san! I did it!"

Satou-keiji looked around at the excited cry and blinked in surprise as a fully solid Takagi came running up to her. Then she broke out into a smile. She could feel the relief mixed in with the excited sense of accomplishment that was rolling off of him in waves. "Congratulations. Do you think you're ready to get the doctors' approval to leave then?"

"I think so." He paused, frowning slightly. "Um, is something wrong?"

"I just got a call from Megure-keibu. They've found Professor Hakuren."

"Really?" Takagi blinked in surprise. He hadn't realized Megure-keibu was even investigating this. "But that's a good thing, right?"

"That would depend on opinion," Satou replied, her face grim. "She's dead. Her neighbors all say that she left several months ago. According to Kudo-kun, her university said she was on sabbatical doing some private research. Last night was the first time since she left that anyone saw lights on in her house. One of them remembered that the police were asking about meeting with her regarding the science museum she helped fund and reported it so Shiratori-keiji went there this morning to see if she would speak to him. No one answered but apparently the door was unlocked. They found her dead in her study."

"Do they know when she died?" he asked hesitantly.

Her frown deepened. "Forensics is getting to it, but one thing's for sure. It was a long time ago."

"But the light…"

"Exactly. So someone was in her house yesterday—someone who would have known she was dead and didn't call anyone. It also seems that whoever it was had a key. There was no sign that the door was forced. Megure-keibu wants us back there as soon as possible. So can you get the okay to go? I've already got mine."

"I guess…"

"What? Is there something wrong?"

"I was just thinking that we should tell Kudo-kun," he replied, scratching sheepishly at the back of his head.

Satou hesitated a moment before slowly shaking her head. "I agree that he should know, but maybe we should wait. He seemed preoccupied with something when I saw him this morning. It felt like he had a lot on his mind already."

"But if we're leaving…"

"We'll give him a call once we've taken a look at the professor's place ourselves. That way we'll have more to say too."

X

"Wow, we got more people than I thought we would," Heiji remarked, looking around the field where the games were to take place. Kazuha was there, obviously, and he'd expected Shinichi, Ran, and Nakamori-chan. He kind of wished Hakuba hadn't come, but he'd expected the blonde too. But Yamada and Mia the linguistics student were both there too along with five or six other people he didn't know.

"I think that's everyone," Kazuha said, tapping him lightly on the arm. "Do you want to explain the rules?"

"Oh yeah, uh, the rules, right." He laughed, scratching the back of his head. "Okay everyone. Thanks for coming. So, we're here because, well, I was thinking, to help anyone who's having trouble controlling their powers, we could try playing with these." He held up the Frisbees he'd procured. "I made sure they were durable. So the idea is to play without using your hands—er, or at least for anyone who has a way to play without hands I mean. Everyone else, if your powers can help you somehow, feel free to use 'em, just don't hurt anyone."

"So are we just passing them around then?" Mia inquired, pulling irritably at a particularly rebellious curl of hair in a vain attempt to make it stay behind her ear.

"That was the idea. Since it's for practicing and all."

"Wouldn't it be more fun with a goal though?" Yamada asked. "Like, I don't know, being the last one standing sort of thing."

Everyone stared at him.

He blinked back at them then, obviously thinking back over what he'd just said, before his expression twisted in a mixture of embarrassment and panic. "That came out wrong. I meant, you know, like maybe you call for a person when you pass it and if they don't catch it then they're out. So the person who doesn't drop any catches wins."

Heiji nodded in approval. "All right, sounds good to me."

"Oo, this looks fun. Can I play?"

Everyone in the clearing froze and looked up to see KID grinning at them from the lower branches of a nearby tree. Then, as one, everyone looked to Hattori, seeing as he'd organized the event. He in turn turned to Kazuha, since he'd organized it for her benefit. She looked around at everyone's expectant faces then up at the thief and back at Heiji with a shrug.

"I don't mind."

"Oh hey, can I maybe get an autograph?" one of the girls Heiji didn't recognize asked, looking hopefully up at the thief.

"Oi, oi, talk about that stuff later will you?" Heiji interjected. "We kinda need daylight for this."

"Oh, sorry," the girl apologized, blushing faintly.

The game began a bit awkwardly. No one was entirely sure how they were supposed to be playing. Most people resorted to the good old fashioned way until the girl who'd asked for KID's autograph, who could apparently exercise a sort of elastic pull on something she'd just touched, began to make the Frisbee fly bizarre, serpentine routes. The first time she did this KID intercepted the Frisbee's meandering path with a curved barrier that somehow managed to cause the Frisbee to skim along it and eventually fly back towards the girl. Everyone started to get more into it after that, but Shinichi noticed that Kazuha was still having trouble.

Every time the Frisbee came her way, she would reach out towards it as though pushing against an invisible wall. But though sometimes the Frisbee would wobble, it never seemed to do any more than that. Each time she gestured, Shinichi could feel a subtle gusting of the wind, so he could guess what she might be trying, but it obviously wasn't working.

"I don't know what else to do," Hattori said as he fell back to stand beside Shinichi as the Frisbee moved to the other end of the field, frustration making his words sharp. "Nothing we've tried seems to help."

Shinichi frowned, watching as Kazuha ducked to avoid getting a Frisbee in the face. The Frisbee was caught by Ran who passed it to Hakuba. "Maybe her abilities are like yours and need a strong emotion."

"I thought about that. But from what I can tell it doesn't seem related. If anything it seems to happen most when she's not thinking about it—hey, what's he doing?"

Shinichi glanced back towards the girl they had been discussing as his fellow detective stiffened abruptly. Blue eyes landed immediately on Kaito, who had dropped down to ground level right beside Kazuha and seemed to be whispering in her ear. Hattori started immediately towards the two, looking torn somewhere between annoyed and suspicious.

"Hey!"

KID glanced around, smirked, and vanished just before the Osakan reached them.

"What did he say to you?" Hattori demanded, shooting glares across the clearing at the thief who had reappeared in another midair perch.

"I…think he was giving me advice…" Kazuha replied, looking more than a little confused herself. His words echoed through her mind, turning themselves over and over. _"You are the director, Ojou-san,"_ he'd said, _"so don't push, direct"_…

Hattori didn't look entirely satisfied with the answer but he let the issue drop when Shinichi elbowed him. This time he turned his frown on his fellow detective only to be met by a flat, blue gaze. Shinichi pointedly directed the Osakan's attention back to Kazuha who had a thoughtful expression on her face. Hattori let out a breath as his shoulders sagged a little.

"Uh, so do you want to give it another try then?" he asked.

Kazuha blinked and looked up at him then nodded slowly. "I…okay."

This time everyone in the clearing watched as Hattori lifted the Frisbee and let it fly towards Kazuha. She stood with her feet firmly planted and her eyes focused on the spinning disc. But this time, as it drew closer, she closed her eyes and raised her arms. Instead of making pushing motions at it, she let one arm swish through the air. Her entire body spun to follow the motion as though she were dancing, and as she turned they could all feel the wind pick up. It spun just as Kazuha was spinning and caught the Frisbee, pulling it around and hurling it off again across the field in a different direction.

"Hey, you did it!" Aoko exclaimed to scattered applause.

Kazuha blinked open her eyes and turned just in time to see someone catching the Frisbee she'd just sent soaring out. The catcher grinned and waved the disc so that everyone could see it. Then he turned and sent it out again to continue the game.

"KID-sama!" a voice half the occupants of the clearing knew all too well rang out and suddenly Sonoko was running out onto the grass, arms waving wildly like a drowning person trying to attract attention.

All activity stopped as everyone turned to look. It was impossible not to. The magician in question glanced around then nonchalantly walked up several invisible steps until he was several meters above everyone's heads. Sonoko however wasn't about to let her idol get away that easily. Shinichi could have sworn he saw Kaito blanch for a split second there before his Poker Face snapped back into place when the overexcited girl jumped and actually shot upward like she'd been catapulted.

There was a flash and a bang and suddenly no one could see anything because the entire clearing was covered in smoke. When it cleared Sonoko was sitting in the grass and KID was nowhere to be seen.

Then Sonoko leapt back to her feet. "Why won't he talk to me?" she complained to the clearing in general, stamping a foot in frustration.

Shinichi closed his eyes, torn between an odd desire to laugh and bang his head on something. In his opinion, no one in their right minds would hang around to talk to someone who approached them like _that_.

Kaito… Tearing his eyes away from where Ran was doing her best to placate her irate friend, Shinichi scanned the surrounding scenery. But it seemed the magician had gone.

X

Halfway through the afternoon Shinichi gave in and went to talk to the doctors about the hot-cold flashes. According to them, it seemed that his body's ability to regulate its own temperature had been adversely affected by his encounter with the blue smoke. It wasn't a particularly good piece of news, but it _was_ an enlightening one. He had the feeling that he might have been looking at his own situation from slightly the wrong angle.

To test his theory, he stopped by the dining hall before making his customary, evening journey to Kaito's cabin. He hesitated when he reached the door, but it opened before he could decide whether to knock and Kaito greeted him like he had every other time Shinichi had come—although he did do a double take when he saw what he had brought with him.

"I'm just curious, but why are you carrying a garbage bag full of ice cubes?"

"I wanted to try something," Shinichi replied, shifting the bag a little higher on his shoulder. "Uh, you don't mind, do you? It might get a bit wet."

"Oh no, I don't mind." Kaito stepped aside and watched with interest as Shinichi set the bag down in the middle of the floor. "What were you thinking about trying?"

"Well, I've been thinking about how that snowstorm didn't make a lot of sense."

"About as much sense as anything else that's come of this, I'd say," the magician replied, quirking an inquisitive eyebrow at him.

Shinichi just rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I believe my original assumptions about my…situation were a bit off center."

"And?" the magician prompted, seating himself on the edge of his cot to observe his companion.

"It's not just about freezing, it's about temperature—climate, to some degree."

Kaito blinked. "Really?"

Instead of answering, Shinichi sat himself down on the floor in front of the garbage bag and closed his eyes. The seconds dragged by. Indigo eyes flickered from the detective to the bag and back to the detective before settling on tracing Shinichi's features, picking out the little differences.

He was distracted from his contemplation by a sudden slosh as the garbage bag collapsed (all except a small mound on the side farthest from the detective). If Shinichi hadn't made sure it was so well sealed he was sure the cabin floor would have been soaked.

Blue eyes popped open to stare at the flabby bag—which was slowly becoming less flabby. He let out a breath as he nodded to himself.

"So…care to enlighten me?"

"I'm not sure how to explain it exactly," the detective replied, brows drawing together slightly in consideration. "I can kind of tell what the temperature is for everything near me—but it's not like just knowing it's hot or cold. It's more like…feeling what it is and knowing what it could be. And _knowing_ how to make it that way and what things would be like if it was. It's like pulling a bowstring. You know you can stretch it and what will happen if you do, but you also know it's going to snap back as soon as you let go."

"So it's not all about the cold."

"Yeah, I just didn't notice before because the weather's been so warm lately."

"I see." The magician nodded in understanding. "That's certainly interesting. So what were you going to do with all that ice after you were done?"

Shinichi looked back at the bag and laughed a bit sheepishly. "Let it melt in the bathroom…?" He'd been expecting the ice to have melted before he was done testing, especially considering the weather, but it seemed his tampering delayed the process. That could be useful to know. As it was though, he couldn't exactly water the plants outside with ice cubes.

Getting up, Shinichi moved the garbage bag into the bathroom shower. That done, he paused at the door. Now that the experiment was over, there was nothing to use as a distraction. Suddenly he was feeling nervous again. Swallowing with a suddenly dry throat, he peeked outside.

Kaito was doing something on his computer. Shinichi noted the little quirk of a grin flittering around the magician's lips with some amusement. It made him look like he was scheming something. Then again, he was always scheming something.

Yes. If he'd learned anything about Kaito after all these years of association, it was that the magician always had a plan. Or rather lots of plans. Little ones and big ones, short term and long. He was a master of improvisation, but every move he made was calculated in lieu of those plans because he never lost sight of what he wanted (but didn't that just mean he'd been _planning_…? That he really did want…).

Retreating back into the bathroom, Shinichi stared at his reflection in the mirror.

What Kaito had been planning and how long he'd been planning it wasn't really the issue here, mindboggling as it was. What _was_ important was what he was going to do about it. How should he answer? Because he had no doubt that, while Kaito hadn't said anything, he was waiting for an answer.

What did _he_ want anyway? He wanted to be a detective. That was something he felt like he had always known. But, well, he _was_ a detective. Had been one for years now. He had learned a lot in that time about the grays of the world, but while it hadn't changed his desire to solve crimes and catch criminals it had dispelled some of his once unshakable belief in the strength of truth. Truth, while important, couldn't solve all problems. It could clear up the past and give closure, but it could do little about the future. Not by itself. Catching a hundred criminals didn't mean there wouldn't be a hundred more. It was a hard truth but there it was.

Still, it didn't mean that people shouldn't try. Even if it was only a little bit of difference, he still wanted to make that difference. That, at least, hadn't changed. But it was a starting point, nothing more.

Ever since he'd gotten back to his own life after the fall of the Organization however, he had felt as though he was in a state of suspended motion. True, he had been doing a lot of school work on top of case work, but in his mind it had all been catching up and he wasn't actually going anywhere.

But maybe there wasn't anything _to_ catch up. Maybe he'd been thinking about this all wrong. For a while he'd thought he was supposed to start over from the beginning, but perhaps he didn't need to rebuild anything or catch up to anything. That kind of thinking only resulted in going in circles while leaving him feeling pressed for time for no real reason worth agonizing over.

He was tired of being confused.

What he should be doing—should have done from the beginning—was take everything that had happened and just move onward. Stop trying to fix things that he well knew couldn't be fixed.

What he wanted… What he wanted was to be able to go to bed at night without finding himself unable to stop thinking about what had been. To be able to leave behind all the regrets and not have to keep looking back over his shoulder.

There were still moments sometimes when he was surprised to see himself in the mirror. But that was just ridiculous. The only person who could look back from a reflection was yourself after all. He didn't want to have to wonder who was looking back anymore.

It sounded simple enough for all that it had taken him far longer than it should have to realize it, but simple as it was he knew it was still up to him to take the first step towards it.

He was the one that had to let go and he was the one who had to decide he wanted to start living again.

So that night when Kaito walked him the few steps to the cabin door like he'd been doing since they'd arrived at camp, he gathered his courage and leaned up to give the magician a quick peck on the cheek. He knew his face had flushed bright red despite himself and he looked away as he bid Kaito goodnight.

He was already beginning to wonder if maybe he should have spent more time thinking about it when Kaito caught his arm and pulled him back to place a kiss on his lips.

"Good night," he said, his usual grin replaced by a soft smile that made the detective feel oddly warm.

**TBC**

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><p><strong>A.N<strong>: I've got to run, but thanks for reading and see you next time!


	19. A Tinted Voice

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

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><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

19: A Tinted Voice

"Hey, is it just me, or are there a lot fewer people around today?" Aoko asked, glancing around the dining hall.

Across the table, Hattori shrugged. "A lot of people have been getting their leaving certificates from the doctors. They've already okayed twenty some people."

"What? But isn't that almost half the people who came? In that case, why are there still so many people here?"

"That would be because others have been arriving to take their places," Saguru replied from his seat beside her as he took a sip of his tea and surveyed the room at large. "With each individual reacting differently and at different paces, there are those who did not think they had to come who have discovered otherwise, just as there are people who came who did not actually have to. Like Mouri-san here." He nodded to Ran.

Kazuha turned to her friend at that with interest. "Does that mean you've been officially cleared then?"

Ran nodded. "Yeah. Though they said I should still get a checkup if I start feeling strange."

"But then doesn't that mean you're free to go home?"

"It does, but I thought I might as well wait since you guys are all still here," she explained. "Besides, we still have a few more days left before break ends so it's not like there's anything I have to do back home right now."

"Guess that does sound kinda boring," Hattori agreed, pouring syrup all over his pancakes. "Hey, have you seen Kudo lately?"

"Not since yesterday morning," Ran replied, glancing down at her mostly empty plate. She and Shinichi had eaten breakfast together the other day. Things still felt a little awkward between them, but it was getting better.

"Man, I wonder where he keeps disappearing to," the Osakan detective remarked, shaking his head. Truth be told, he'd actually tried following Shinichi a few times when the other detective had excused himself to wander off, but the first time he'd run into that Haru person and lost his quarry, and the second time he'd rounded a corner to find that Shinichi had simply disappeared. "It's like he just ups and vanishes. It's kinda weird."

"But hasn't he always been like that?" Kazuha pointed out, picking up a cup of orange juice.

"Uh, well…" Hattori glanced at Ran then shrugged. "I…guess."

Now Kazuha was looking at him with that slight frown that told him she thought he was acting oddly.

So he changed the subject. "So you were going to go see about getting your leaving certificate?"

Kazuha knew that Heiji was avoiding something, but if he felt the need to do so then she supposed he had to have a good reason. Making a mental note to keep it in mind, she nodded and let the subject go.

X

Shinichi stretched his arms as far upward as they could go before letting out a long sigh. Having just spent over an hour closeted indoors with two of the resident doctors, it was a relief to get outside. Even better, with everyone else at breakfast, it was actually quiet despite being within the usual activity zones of the camp.

"So how did it go?"

He started violently at the voice suddenly piping up right beside him.

"Do you have to sneak up on me like that?" he complained as he turned to glare at Kaito—or rather KID at the moment. There wasn't any real heat behind the words though. "And I'm not sure they really understood my explanation, but the exercises went well and I got the okay to go when I want to."

"Well, we're all winging it here," the magician chuckled, slinging an arm around his waist. "Do you want to go down to the lake? I brought breakfast."

Shinichi blushed faintly at the gesture but agreed. He was still getting used to this change in the course of their relationship. It felt a bit like everything should be…_different_ somehow, but the funny thing was that it wasn't. Well, except that Kaito seemed to be breeching his personal bubble a lot more often—only when he thought back Kaito had done that a lot already anyway, it was just that Shinichi hadn't actually _noticed_ until now (a bit of an embarrassing realization in itself). But they were still the people they had been.

Then again, maybe that was how it was supposed to be. If a relationship demanded one or the other party to change who they were just to make it work, it probably wouldn't last long or happily for anyone involved.

But he was still getting used to the kisses.

He blushed as he watched Kaito pull away and sit back down on the grass. "What was that for?"

"You were ignoring me," the magician replied as though that should be obvious. "You're over analyzing things again. Just relax and eat your breakfast before it gets cold. You eat little enough as it is."

Shinichi rolled his eyes but he couldn't help smiling anyway. He might not know if he actually loved the magician or not, but he did know that he couldn't imagine a future without him anymore.

X

People were just beginning to polish off the last of their respective breakfasts when a young man in his late teens stopped by the end of the table where Ran and the others were sitting.

"Hey, you know anything about where I get my cabin keys?" he asked the end of the table in general, sounding equal parts bored and annoyed.

"Oh, I can show you the way," Yamada, who had been eating at the very end of the bench, offered as he stood up. "I take it you just arrived then?"

"Duh," the newcomer snorted. "Like I'd be asking if I hadn't. Man this place is stupid," he continued, voice dropping into an irate mutter. "Making me waste my time when I could've been doing something _fun_ for a change. But _no_, _normal_ people can't do that, you have to go where people won't get hurt. Ch. Idiots."

"It's not that bad," Yamada assured him, scratching at the back of his head. "You can think about it like a vacation. And hey, you never know, maybe everything will be back to normal sooner than you think and we can all go back to the way things should be. I mean, once they find that professor woman who was running the lab and get her to explain her project, I'm sure they'll find a way to fix everything," he pointed out.

The other only laughed, the sound harsh and biting. "Find her? She's dead man. Guess you haven't heard all cooped up out here have ya?"

"She—what?"

"But you know what?" the boy continued, ignoring his audience's shock. "I say that's just fine. I kind of like things the way they are now. If you had any brains you'd think the same. I just think it's lame that we have to come out here just 'cause they're all scared."

"How can you say that?" the young reporter exploded. His hands curled into tight fists as his eyes flashed with sudden fury. "Don't you know people have died because of this?"

"It's not like that has anything to do with me."

The reporter gaped for a moment, at a complete loss for words, before something in him seemed to snap and he lunged for the newcomer. He was intercepted before he could hit the guy by Hakuba.

"You don't want to do that," the blonde said sharply, eyes flickering back to the newcomer before he lowered his voice so that only Yamada could hear him. "I…heard that his abilities are rather explosive."

"Man you guys take everything way too seriously," the newcomer scoffed, beginning to laugh, but he cut himself off when Hattori advanced on him, small flames flickering in the air around him. "You find that funny huh? I dare you to say it again."

"Hattori-kun," Hakuba said warningly.

The newcomer's mouth twisted into an unpleasant smile but he seemed slightly wary now. "I'll say whatever I like."

"Then go say it somewhere else," Mia snapped, stepping out of the watching crowd. She had one hand held up casually to display the electricity crackling around her fingers, filling the air with the smell of ozone. "I, for one, have had more than enough of listening to you talk. And you know what? It's _so_ hard to keep all this power under control when I'm annoyed…"

He sneered in response but apparently he had finally noticed the hostile looks he was getting from practically everyone present. Shrugging, he turned and walked off. "Whatever."

Once he was gone, Hakuba released his grip on Yamada whose shoulders slumped as his gaze fell.

"What a jerk," Mia snorted, letting the electricity fade before dusting off her hands.

Yamada's fists clenched and he turned around abruptly to march in the opposite direction from the one the newcomer had taken. The crowd parted to let him through and curious eyes watched him go.

"What happened here?"

Startled, Ran glanced back to see Shinichi stepping up behind her. Sharp, blue eyes flitted over the crowd. "Everyone seems kind of angry."

"It was one of the new arrivals," she explained, frowning slightly. "He was asking for directions when Yamada-kun brought up the professor lady and he said she's dead."

Shinichi froze. "_What_?"

"That's what he said. And then he said how he didn't care if the doctors find a cure or not because he likes how things turned out. Then he said he didn't care that people were killed."

Shinichi frowned. "He actually said that?"

"Well, what he actually said was that it didn't have anything to do with him," she admitted. "But I think that amounts to the same thing."

Shinichi's frown deepened and she could tell that he was disturbed, though it was probably more than just about the one heartless newcomer. She considered asking him about it, but decided against it in the end. Experience told her he was much more likely to keep it to himself. Instead she cleared her throat to catch his attention.

"I'm going to go talk to Yamada-kun. He looked really upset when he left," she told him. "You can ask Hakuba-san and Heiji if you need to know more. It looks like they're coming over here now."

Shinichi blinked, opening his mouth to reply, but Ran had already gone. Instead he was now looking at his rapidly approaching fellow detectives, both of whom were frowning.

"Where the hell have you been?" Hattori demanded the moment they were within earshot. "Man you missed quite the scene."

"I got my certificate," Shinichi replied, sidestepping the question. "Is it true that Professor Hakuren is dead?"

X

Ran found her quarry seated on one of the benches outside the dining hall with his head bowed. He didn't seem to hear her approach. Or if he did, he didn't react.

"Are you…all right?" she asked hesitantly as she sat down beside him.

Yamada didn't look up but she could see his mouth twisting into a frown. "I guess. I didn't mean to make a scene back there."

"If you hadn't, I think someone else might have. What he said was pretty horrible," Ran replied, her own eyes narrowing slightly at the memory. Shaking away her own upset, she sat down beside the aspiring reporter. "But…some people are just like that."

Yamada snorted at that. "Yeah, natural born bastards. Er, I—I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that out loud."

Ran blinked then laughed lightly, shaking her head. "No, it's all right. I guess that was kind of what I was thinking too."

Silence fell between them as some distance to their right people began to filter out of the dining hall and disperse for their own activities. Ran watched them for a moment, spotting Shinichi as he emerged, glanced around, and headed for the cabins. Now that she thought about it, Hattori was right. Shinichi had been going off by himself a lot lately. Of course, she was used to him doing that by now, but it didn't mean she didn't wonder where he was going or what he was doing. She also knew she would probably never know. It didn't bother her as much as it used to, though she couldn't help but prod at the thought just to be sure like someone picking at a scab to see if it really was all better now. It did make her a little sad though. Maybe that was something that would never go away. Still, she was learning to accept it.

"I have a brother," Yamada said suddenly, and Ran turned to see that he had tilted his head back so he could look up at the sky. "He's a year younger than me. Loves to play baseball. He thinks journalism's really dull, but he takes photos for me when I ask so I can concentrate on taking notes. He was there too—at the museum that night."

"But…he's not here," Ran said slowly, dreading his response but needing to ask. It was the haunted look in his eyes, like someone who desperately needed answers but didn't know what the questions were. It was strange because she hadn't seen any of that in him in all the times she'd seen him before now. It seemed they all had skeletons in their closets. But maybe…maybe what they all needed was some way to bring them out. You couldn't solve problems if you couldn't acknowledge they were there. She knew that now.

"He…he couldn't come. Three days before they made that announcement about this camp, Mom went to wake him up in the morning and it was like he'd turned into stone or something. All hard and cold and he wasn't even breathing. We called the hospital but no one knew anything. He—he's been like that ever since. Doesn't move, won't wake up, has no pulse… Like he's really turned into a stone statue. I'm not even sure if he's still…you know, still in there." His voice cracked a little as he lowered his head. "I keep thinking… if I hadn't asked him to come with me…"

Ran glanced down at her hands, wishing she could honestly say that everything would be okay. She was lucky, she realized. She hadn't realized how much so before. All her friends were okay. A little stranger—ha! She'd never thought she'd say that!—but otherwise all right.

"It's not your fault you know," she said finally, knowing it probably wasn't anything the other didn't know but thinking that perhaps it still needed to be said. "It could have just as easily never happened."

He nodded slowly. "I know."

X

"She's dead?" Kaito repeated. "Are they sure?"

"That was what they told me. They don't really know any more than that."

"And they heard this from…?"

"Some jerk who just arrived."

"Okay." Kaito's eyes narrowed slightly as he studied his companion's pensive face. "So you're going back today after all," he stated more than asked.

Shinichi nodded. "There isn't much point left in staying here. And I want to know what's happening." He paused, glancing up into Kaito's face. "What about you?"

The magician hummed softly in thought. "I'll probably hang around for another day or two then take my leave."

"You're supposed to be away for the entirety of the break period though. That's another four days."

He shrugged. "I'll manage. I have bolt holes _everywhere_."

Shinichi hesitated a moment. "If you want, you could stay at my house."

The smile that flashed across Kaito's face left the detective feeling warm inside. "I'd love to."

**TBC**

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><p><strong>A.N<strong>: Whew, that leaves one more chapter to tie off part two, and then we'll be in the last part of the story! ^_^ Thanks for reading and see you all next time.


	20. A Day for Us

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

* * *

><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

20: A Day for Us

It felt a little strange to be home. Kind of like waking up from a particularly vivid dream. So perhaps it really had been like a sort of vacation. And like with the end of any other kind of vacation, it was time to get back to work. Although since he didn't have school to go to yet, he allowed himself to sleep in a little.

He was greeted upon his arrival at the police station by Takagi's surprised exclamation of, "Kudo-kun! You're back!"

"I got back late yesterday," he replied, leveling the policeman with a searching look. "One of the new arrivals at the camp said something interesting that I wanted to confirm it."

"Really?" Takagi laughed a little, looking guilty all of a sudden. "What was it?"

"He said that Hakuren Naomi was found dead. It's true, I take it," he surmised, eyeing the older man's reaction.

"Uh, well, yeah… Her body was found in her house. We still don't know exactly what happened except that it must have happened a while ago."

"So what do you know?" Shinichi asked. "And you might want to—readjust a bit," he added as an afterthought. "I'm starting to be able to see through you."

"O—oh, right, sorry."

Once he had extracted the story from Takagi, he acquired a copy of the case files from Megure and headed to the house in question for a look around. All in all, he thought, it was a decent day's work. It finally felt like they were getting somewhere!

X

He woke the following morning to the sound of the doorbell. This was slightly confusing since he wasn't expecting any guests—well, he was expecting Kaito, but he kind of expected the magician to let himself in like he did every other time he visited—and he hadn't heard the routine morning explosion from next door which meant the professor and Haibara probably weren't up yet. He cracked open an eye to peer blearily towards the clock to confirm this. It took his sleep befuddled brain a moment longer than it normally would to process the numbers staring back at him because they were too ridiculous. Five thirty? Who in their right mind visited someone at _five thirty_ in the morning?

Maybe he'd imagined the sound of the bell.

Or not. There it was again. Groaning, he crawled reluctantly out of his comfortable bed and dragged his feet downstairs. Whoever it was had better have a damned good reason for waking him up so early.

Whoever it was rang the doorbell a third time before Shinichi finally reached the door and yanked it open—to find Kaito grinning at him. He stared. The magician's grin grew brighter.

He shut the door again. Or at least he tried. Kaito got his foot in before the door could click shut and forced it open again.

"Aww, is that how you say hello after we haven't seen each other in so long?"

Shinichi relinquished his grasp on the door after a few more seconds of failing to wrestle it shut in favor of pinching the bridge of his nose. "It's been two days—barely, I might add. Do you have _any_ idea what time it is?"

Kaito actually checked his watch (Shinichi couldn't tell if it was for show or for real). "Five thirty six and counting. Why?" He paused at the flat glare the detective was sending him before giving in and laughing. "Come on, it's a beautiful day. Besides, I had to clear out early so no one would see me going, and you were the one who said I could come over, remember?"

Shinichi glared for a few more seconds then relented with a sigh. "Why didn't you just say so from the beginning? Though really, I'm surprised you stopped to use the door," he added, stepping aside to let Kaito in. "Is this a special occasion or are you tired of picking my locks?"

Kaito laughed, making no move to come any further inside. "Never. But a proper date should come to the door, no?" He flicked his wrist and offered the detective a red rose before he could say anything. "Shall we be on our way?"

Shinichi blinked in confusion but he took the proffered flower on reflex, irritation fading despite himself in the face of that too-charming smile. "Shouldn't you be getting your stuff to the guest room?"

"I already did," the magician replied cheerfully.

Shinichi's expression grew flat again. "You mean you broke in first to put away your things and _then_ came to the front door?"

"Yep," Kaito agreed, beaming. "I thought it would save time. Now come on, time's a wasting~!"

"For what?" Still confused and not yet entirely ready to be awake, he allowed himself to be shuffled into his shoes. He was halfway out the door before he remembered that he was still in his pajamas—or at least he should have been because when he looked down he discovered that that was no longer the case. Apparently the guest room wasn't the only place Kaito had been that morning. If he wasn't still trying to wake up, he would probably have been more upset. "Kaito, what did you do with my pajamas?"

"They'll be in your coat closet when we get back," the magician replied, steering him down the street towards the bus stop. "As for what we're doing, we're going on a date!"

Shinichi tried to remember if he had agreed to this. The occasion was not coming to mind. On the other hand… Well, it kind of maybe sounded sort of nice.

But he was still annoyed about the time.

"I want a coffee first," he declared. Kaito just grinned.

The magician went one step further and bought them both breakfast sandwiches along with the coffee. Shinichi only really wanted the coffee, but Kaito insisted he eat the sandwich too.

"You can eat it yourself or I can feed it to you," he'd cheerfully threatened.

Shinichi edged away from him. "You can't feed someone a sandwich."

"Would you like to bet on that?"

The answer to that was most definitely a no. So now he had half a sandwich in one hand and a coffee in the other as he sat between the window and Kaito on a bus going to somewhere of which he had yet to be informed. Blue eyes watched the scenery outside rolling by, growing gradually brighter and brighter as the sun began to climb higher into the sky. As his mind finally began to clear of the last clingy webs of sleep, he realized that he was leaning rather heavily against the magician. He blushed and sat up straighter. That was when he noticed that, at some point when he hadn't been paying attention, one of Kaito's arms had snaked its way around his waist. He glanced up into a pair of indigo eyes that were watching him from beneath raised eyebrows.

There was a long moment in which neither of them moved. Eventually Shinichi sighed and went back to his former position leaning against the magician's side. It was comfortable after all.

"I talked to Takagi-keiji yesterday," he said, taking another bite of his sandwich. "According to him, the—"

"Hold it!" Kaito cut in, holding up his free hand to stem Shinichi's words. "Tell me about it tomorrow."

The detective blinked in confusion. "What? But—"

"Is anything going to change by tomorrow?"

"Well…probably not," Shinichi admitted.

"Okay, then forget about it. Today we are just two people on a date and we are going to enjoy ourselves." He turned to smile at the detective. The warmth in that smile made Shinichi's stomach flip flop in an unfamiliar but not entirely unpleasant way. "Deal?"

"…Fine, but if I get a call from the police saying something _has_ changed I'm not going to ignore it."

"Fair enough," Kaito conceded. "But unless that happens, we're not speaking a word more on the subject."

Bereft of the case, Shinichi found himself at a sudden loss as to what to say next. "Um…so…where exactly are you taking me? You never said…"

If he noticed the uncertainty in Shinichi's voice (which he no doubt had), Kaito didn't comment. "There's that new prehistory themed museum/amusement park hybrid that opened five months ago. Everyone I've met who's gone has said it was great."

"I've heard of that place. It isn't actually new. They just remodeled an old park and gave it a new theme."

"Which makes it new."

Shinichi conceded the point in favor of taking a long sip of coffee. "Isn't it kind of far away though?"

"That's why we're heading out now. Tropical Land is closer, but I didn't think you'd want to go there," Kaito explained.

"Definitely not," Shinichi agreed, grimacing slightly. "But seriously, do you have any idea how many ways people can be killed in an amusement park?"

"Probably not, and no offense but I'd rather not be told."

"I just thought I should warn you," Shinichi grumbled in reply. It wasn't like he _liked_ knowing either. That kind of knowledge could make anyone paranoid. Add that to his luck (or rather lack thereof), and the paranoia became all too justified. Hmm, did it still count as paranoia if it was perfectly logical?

The magician's expression softened. "You really don't get much time to just have fun, do you?"

Shinichi frowned slightly. "I wouldn't really put it that way." It wasn't like he was one of those people who always needed to be out. He enjoyed quiet activities like reading at home just as much as people like Sonoko enjoyed spending hours at the mall.

Kaito made a noncommittal noise and changed the subject.

As the bus rolled on, Shinichi let himself relax, resting his head on Kaito's shoulder and closing his eyes. He felt warm and secure, so that he found he could actually believe that they were going to have a perfect, uninterrupted day. Lost in the unfamiliar but pleasant sensation, he drifted off to sleep.

Kaito glanced down at the dozing detective, his own expression softening. Shinichi actually looked peaceful today.

X

Shinichi was honestly surprised when they finished lunch and still hadn't run into a crime. No one had gotten on one of the six roller coasters they'd ridden only to leave it on a stretcher or in a body bag. No one had been unearthed from any of the nooks and crannies to be found amidst the other rides. And no one had keeled out of their chairs at the park restaurant where they ate lunch. Well, there was that one guy who choked on the chicken he was eating, but that was only because he'd looked out the window to see his daughter and "that no good hooligan!" kissing. Once he'd cleared his windpipe, he'd gone charging out of the restaurant to the interested stares of the other patrons to whom the whole thing was free entertainment.

Kaito was one of the rubbernecking group until Shinichi cleared his throat. Tearing his eyes away from the drama unfolding outside, the magician found Shinichi watching him with his chin propped on one hand and his other hand drumming on the table.

"So do you want to keep watching the show or are we going to the museum?" No, he wasn't pouting. He was just—a little annoyed. After all, it was Kaito's idea to come. "Or you can keep watching and I'll go by myself."

Kaito blinked. "What? No way! You're not going anywhere without me." He stood up abruptly and snatched the detective's free hand to pull him out of his seat.

On their way out they passed by the irate father who had snatched a balloon sword from a passing park entertainer and was now trying to stab his daughter's boyfriend with it while the girl in question attempted to stop him. Kaito turned his head to watch and nearly walked into one of the stuffed dinosaur suits walking around the park. Shinichi grabbed his arm to stop him before he could however and offered the bipedal brontosaurus an apology.

"What's the matter with you?" he demanded once the stuffed animal suit had left. The magician was never that careless.

Kaito watched the one-sided balloon battle for a moment longer before turning to Shinichi with an expression on his face that the detective had never seen there before. It looked torn between uncertain and anxious.

"You don't think your parents would react like that do you?"

Shinichi stared. Whatever he'd been expecting to come out of Kaito's mouth, it hadn't been that.

He turned to look back at the drama still playing out then back at Kaito and doubled over laughing.

X

"I still don't see what was so funny," Kaito grumbled as they stood in the park museum's front entrance hall. "It is a perfectly valid concern."

"I'm sorry," Shinichi apologized again, though the corners of his lips were still twitching. "It's just… My parents are weird, but they're not _that_ weird." And imagining his dad doing something that ridiculous—! Anyone would crack up. Although if it ever did happen in real life, he thought he'd probably want to die of mortification, but since it never would it was hilarious.

Kaito watched in bemusement as Shinichi devolved into another fit of silent mirth. If the detective hadn't been sitting on one of the entrance hall benches, he would probably have fallen over. So he still didn't see what was so funny, but it was nice to see Shinichi laughing so he decided he didn't care.

"Come on Tantei-kun, the tour guide's here."

The various families scattered around the entrance hall gathered together as an old man carrying a tour flag waved to them. Everyone had their tickets checked to make sure they were with the right tour before the old man began the tour.

There was a giant tyrannosaurus skeleton in the middle of the entrance hall located some distance beyond the reception desks. It wasn't a real one, but the designers had done their best to make it look real. The tour's first stop was the foot of the tyrannosaur's plinth where the guide launched into a story about how the old park had been bought by a man who had a fascination for dinosaurs and how the place had been redesigned to both improve the facilities and make it educational. The story itself sounded like it should have been interesting, but the delivery was…somewhat lacking.

Kaito leaned down as the man talked to whisper into Shinichi's ear. "Do you know what I'm thinking?"

Shinichi glanced sidelong at him then up at the towering skeleton. He studied it for a moment and decided he might have an idea. "Does it involve moving dinosaur bones?"

Kaito chuckled, grin stretching into a smirk. "I was thinking dancing bones, but something like that."

"Don't," the detective warned, eyeing the white-haired tour guide whose wheezing voice was still struggling to be heard against the size of the room. "You might give the guide a heart attack."

Kaito studied the man and relented. "He does look pretty ancient."

So the skeleton didn't dance. But when the guide's story finally came to an end and he turned to lead the way into the cretaceous exhibit, Shinichi's eyes landed on the bronze, paper plaque now attached to the back of the man's dress shirt. It read "Tour Guide: In residence since Prehistory Park's grand opening". Several stifled giggles rang through the tour group. Shinichi bit back a snort of laughter and shot Kaito a look.

"I'll remove it before we go," Kaito mouthed.

X

They spent the rest of the afternoon at the carnival games. Together they cleared out all the shooting game booths, much to the astonishment and mild horror of the people running said booths. Soon they had gathered an entire audience who cheered and applauded. They hadn't exactly meant to strip the place of all its prizes, but amidst all the cheering it just sort of happened. The cheers got even louder when they passed most of the prizes out to the children in the audience (since they were the ones who really wanted them anyway). Although Kaito snagged one of the small, stuffed baby parasaurolophus before the entire pile disappeared and passed it to Shinichi with a lopsided grin. Shinichi stared at it for a moment as Kaito went back to passing things out. He wasn't really a stuffed animal person, but in a moment of sentimentality he found himself stuffing it into a pocket when he didn't think anyone was looking.

Shinichi sat down on a nearby bench to watch as Kaito launched into an impromptu show for the kids still gathered around them. He'd seen Kaito do plenty of tricks before, but this was the first time he'd actually seen the magician put on an actual show as himself. Being a spur of the moment show, it wasn't as elaborate as the ones Shinichi had seen him do as KID, but it was still easy to see that he was a very skilled magician. But what really made Shinichi smile was how he could tell just from watching that Kaito really loved what he did.

Kaito ended his show to a chorus of applause and a few disappointed groans.

"So what did you think?"

Shinichi glanced up into the magician's expectant grin and hid a smile. "Haven't you had enough of people praising you yet?"

"Nope. So you liked it?"

"Yes, I did."

"Good." Kaito beamed, leaning down so that they would be at eye level. "It means more coming from you."

Shinichi ducked his head to hide the blush he could feel creeping into his face (how did Kaito _do_ that?). "So does this mean we're staying for the fireworks?"

"Of course! We have front row seats," Kaito replied, grin widening into that familiar, razor-edged smirk as he offered Shinichi his hand. "Ready?"

Shinichi eyed the mischievous gleam in Kaito's eyes before making up his mind and taking the proffered hand. The magician's warm hand closed over his and pulled him up with ease.

Kaito led them to a deserted area behind the Triassic Thrill Coaster where he swept out one arm with a bow. "After you."

Shinichi frowned. "Where to, exactly?"

"Right here." The magician took a step, rising up off the ground and coming to a stop in mid air. "I'd color it for you, but people might think it's a bit strange."

"And they're not going to think it's strange when they see people floating?"

"I doubt they'll notice us in the dark, and I can hide us once we're settled. So, coming? I guarantee I won't let you fall."

Shinichi snorted but stepped gingerly onto the invisible step, grabbing the magician's hand again. It was incredibly bizarre standing there on the solid nothingness (and knowing that the only thing holding them up was Kaito's concentration). He didn't dare move around too much because he had no idea how large or what shape the force field supporting them was.

"Just move your feet with mine," Kaito instructed, giving his hand a reassuring squeeze. "The steps are wide enough for two. I'll try to keep them even."

If he hadn't been so focused on watching Kaito's feet, Shinichi might have marveled at the way the ground was growing farther and farther away. As it was however all he could think about was how much he wished he could see the steps. Instead he had to test the air before shifting his weight each time just to be sure he wasn't overstepping.

Kaito watched him inch along, half amused and half impatient. "You know, it would be faster if I carried you."

Shinichi shot him a glare. "No."

"But if you don't move faster they're going to start the show before we get there."

"I'm going, I'm going," Shinichi grumbled, picking up his pace as best he could.

There were only three minutes left when he finally gave in and let Kaito pick him up. "It's not fair that you can run up invisible stairs."

Kaito laughed. "Ah, but I made them, so I think it's perfectly fair."

Shinichi rolled his eyes then glanced down at the dwindling specks that were the park's lights and the moving pebbles that were the tops of people's heads. "Just how high are we going anyway?"

"Patience. We're almost there."

"If we fall from up here there's no way we aren't going to break our necks. And probably everything else too."

"I know, but we're not going to fall so that's okay. Although if you keep distracting me that might be a different story."

Shinichi stiffened as he clamped his mouth shut.

He felt Kaito's laugh this time more than he heard it. "Just kidding."

He glared. "That was so not funny."

"Sorry, couldn't help it. Oh look, we're here!" He let Shinichi down and wrapped a steadying arm around his waist. "And three, two, one!"

Right on cue, the first set of fireworks rose into the sky.

They were actually seeing the fireworks at eye level. Not close enough for it to feel like they were in danger, but certainly closer than Shinichi had ever thought possible. It should have been deafening, but Kaito must have done something because the bangs sounded muffled and distant. Instead the brilliant lights splashed across the sky in alternating waves of color in a near silent dance of blooming patterns.

X

It was well after nightfall that they finally reached the Kudo Manor's front door. The walk from the bus stop had been peaceful. And Shinichi realized with a certain amount of wonder that they had actually gone to an amusement park and back without incident. When was the last time that had happened? He honestly couldn't remember.

"What's with that look?" Kaito asked as they paused outside the front door, a concerned note creeping into his voice as he leaned in to try and catch Shinichi's eyes. "Is something wrong?"

"What? Oh, no, nothing's wrong, I was just thinking…"

"I could guess that much," the magician chuckled. "May I inquire as to what you were thinking about?"

"Just that we actually made it through the whole day." He paused and shrugged. "Usually something would have happened and we'd probably be at the police station by now. It's…kind of strange that we aren't."

"Well, that _was_ the plan," Kaito pointed out. "And we had fun, right? I know I did."

The faint hint of a question in his tone made Shinichi smile. Deciding that, for this moment, he wouldn't care that they were still standing outside, he wrapped his arms around the magician's neck and whispered a "Thanks" before leaning up to press their lips together. Kaito was a little surprised but he wasn't going to pass up the opportunity. He wasted no time deepening the kiss, wrapping his arms around the detective's waist and pulling him closer.

Shinichi pulled away when his ears caught a click. A glance back confirmed that he had indeed heard the door opening. "I don't think gentlemen are supposed to let themselves into their date s' houses you know."

Kaito just smirked. "True, but most gentlemen aren't master thieves. Our rules are a little bit different."

Shinichi opened his mouth to say something but it turned into a yawn.

Kaito chuckled. "Come on, let's get you to bed. You look dead on your feet."

**TBC**

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><p><strong>A.N<strong>: Now we shall begin into the last leg of the story! Which I am not done planning yet, but I guess we'll see how it goes. Hope you enjoyed the chapter and see you all next time! And stay warm. Everyone around me is getting sick and I get the feeling I'll be next. Oh joy…


	21. A Knife Edge of Shadows

**A.N**: Hmm, it looks like I might have to bring in Shinichi's parents at some point after all then, since people are wondering, but I'll think about that when the main line is worked out. Anyhow, on to the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

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><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

21: A Knife Edge of Shadows

Slumping into a chair at the kitchen table, Shinichi wrapped both hands around his mug of freshly brewed coffee and drew in a deep breath. The rich aroma of coffee filled his senses and he let out a contented sigh. Nothing beat fresh coffee first thing in the morning.

"Yep, definitely an addiction there," a chipper voice remarked.

Blue eyes cracked open to glare at the grinning face on the other side of the table. "Is not."

"Riiiight. Keep telling yourself that."

"How can you be so _awake_?" he grumbled, burying his nose back in his mug. "It's not natural."

"It's ten," Kaito pointed out. "That's almost noon."

Deciding he didn't feel like arguing the point, Shinichi took a long gulp of coffee and set the mug down. With the beverage's pungent aroma no longer filling his senses, he could smell something else. He frowned. "Kaito, do you smell something burning?"

Kaito sniffed then leapt to his feet. In the blink of an eye he was at the stove, yanking the pan Shinichi hadn't noticed in his usual morning, pre-coffee haze off of the fire. Cursing, the magician shut the heat off with a flick of his wrist and ran the pan to the sink.

Shinichi stood up quickly and moved to join him for a better look at the source of the burning smell. It was a yellow, brown, and black mess sticking to the pan's bottom like some kind of diseased growth.

"…What's that?" he couldn't help but ask.

"Well, it was supposed to be breakfast, but I don't think it quite got the idea. I don't cook much at home," he added as an afterthought.

"I can tell," Shinichi replied dryly.

Kaito shrugged. "It's not my fault Mom banned me from the kitchen when I was ten."

"For no reason at all I'm sure."

Deciding it was time to change the subject, Kaito moved to scrape the contents of the pan into the trash. "So who called you this morning? I'm sure I heard your phone ringing."

"It was Hattori," Shinichi replied, pulling open the fridge and checking to see if there were any eggs left. "He and Toyama-san asked if they could stay the night before they catch the train back to Osaka tomorrow morning."

"And?" Kaito prompted.

"I told them it's okay and that I already have a friend over." He peeked over his shoulder to see how Kaito would react. "Um, you don't mind, do you?"

"Not at all. In fact, this is good," the thief added thoughtfully, turning on the tap and beginning to scrub the pan. "It'll make things easier. So…" Mischievous, indigo eyes turned back to Shinichi. "What have you told them about me?"

"Nothing really. I wasn't sure what you'd want them to think."

"Perfect!" The glee in his voice was impossible to miss.

Shinichi wondered belatedly if this was really a good idea. It was, however, too late to change his mind. Pouring a little oil into a new pan, he watched as the heat made it spread and become more watery. "Please don't scar my friends."

X

When the two Osakans arrived they did a double take as the door opened to reveal a young man who looked remarkably like a taller, wilder Shinichi. Although the longer they looked, the less the similarity grew, it was still there. Maybe a relative? Neither of them was quite sure what to say although Hattori took a quick look around to assure himself that they were at the correct house.

"Um…" he began. "My name is Hattori Heiji and this is my friend Toyama Kazuha. Is Kudo home?"

"Oh, so you're the ones from Osaka," the stranger exclaimed, recognition lighting in his eyes. "Shinichi mentioned you'd be coming. Come in. My name is Kuroba Kaito by the way. It's a pleasure to meet you."

As Kazuha straightened from removing her shoes, the stranger snapped his fingers and produced a yellow rose which he offered to her with a charming smile. She blinked in surprise then blushed and took the proffered flower. Behind her, Hattori twitched.

"How did you do that?" Kazuha asked, eyes wide with excitement.

"I am a magician," he replied, doffing an imaginary hat.

"Oh, I love magic shows! Can you—"

"Okay, can we get out of the doorway now?" Heiji interrupted, placing his hands on Kazuha's shoulders and beginning to steer her towards the kitchen where he could hear sounds of movement.

They found Shinichi pouring himself yet another cup of coffee in the kitchen. He greeted them and offered them drinks, wondering why Hattori was wearing such a surly expression. A look at the excited sparkle in Kazuha's eyes and the sly grin on Kaito's face and he decided he didn't really want to know.

"How was your trip?" he asked instead. It was a nice, normal question, but unfortunately it had the opposite effect from what he had intended as Hattori glowered and Kazuha rolled her eyes heavenward at some remembered exasperation.

"That blond bastard had to take the same bus as us," Hattori began, throwing himself into one of the dining table's empty chairs. "Lousy, arrogant—"

"Heiji," Kazuha interrupted him with a note in her voice that suggested this wasn't the first time that day she'd heard this rant. "You do things your way, he does things his way, there's nothing to be so bent out of shape over."

"You only say that 'cause you've never had to work with him," he shot back, crossing his arms stubbornly. "He's one of those know-it-alls who's always looking down his nose at people!"

She sniffed. "I think you're just worried that he might be a better detective than you."

Hattori's jaw dropped. "_What_? No way is that—that— Argh, how can you _say_ that?"

The two Osakans fell to bickering as Shinichi and Kaito watched, the first in exasperation and the latter in amusement.

"You know, I had a whole host of ideas for how to make today entertaining," he leaned over to murmur into Shinichi's ear. "But I guess this works pretty well too. If you want, I still have some popcorn left over."

Shinichi shook his head, lips quirked into a bemused smile. "Sometimes I really have to wonder at your taste in entertainment."

The magician winked. "It's a skill. Although really you'd be surprised how much you can learn about people just by watching them argue with each other."

"So, what, you're studying?"

Kaito just laughed.

Even after the bickering had died down into a sulky stand-off, Kazuha hadn't forgotten her desire to see more magic tricks and Kaito was all too happy to put on a small show in the living room. Shinichi was settling down to watch it with her when Hattori snagged the back of his collar and dragged him back into the kitchen.

"Hey!" Shinichi complained, struggling to prevent his coffee from spilling all over his clothes.

Releasing his fellow detective, Hattori rounded on him with a scowl. "Who _is_ that?" he hissed, jabbing a finger in the direction from which they'd just come.

Annoyed at the manhandling, Shinichi straightened out his clothes with one hand as the other clutched his mug protectively. "Kaito, obviously. I could have sworn he already told you that."

"That's not what I meant," the other detective groused. "Where did he _come_ from?"

"Ekoda," he replied, wondering why it mattered. The answer earned him a scowl.

They both fell silent as they heard Kazuha laughing from the other room. Shinichi watched the way Hattori's eyebrows drew even closer together. He could read irritation there, and more than a touch of suspicion.

"He's a good person," he said finally, feeling that it was important that Hattori know at least that much even if he couldn't tell him any more.

Green eyes held his for a long moment before Hattori deflated. "I guess if you trust him…"

"I do." And he did. Maybe more than he had ever trusted anyone before.

They heard clapping and the Osakan grimaced.

"Magicians," he grumbled, more to himself than to Shinichi. "What's she like about them anyway?"

Shinichi blinked, his thoughts rearranging themselves. Oh. Come to think of it, Kazuha _had_ looked a little pink in the face when they'd come into the kitchen with Kaito. Suddenly the Osakan detective's behavior made a lot more sense. "Hattori," he said carefully. "Whatever he did, I'm sure he didn't mean it."

"Yeah? And how would you know that? You didn't see the way he was acting!"

Shinichi fought really, really hard not to blush as he turned back to the living room. "I just do. Now if you'll excuse me, I think the show's still going."

X

"You know, for someone who doesn't generally entertain guests, you sure have a lot of guest rooms."

"When my parents still lived here, they used to like having people over," Shinichi explained. "And the rooms are there anyway, so I figured they might as well be set up."

"They're certainly being put to good use now," the magician observed, leaning against the doorframe of the detective's room and watching the activity going on down the hall where Hattori and Kazuha were bringing up their belongings.

"This'll be the first time," Shinichi admitted, dragging some rather bulky packages off of the top shelves inside his closet. "I've never had so many people over at once before." With the packages piled in his arms, he squeezed past the magician and made his way down the hall. "Hey Hattori, you two should change the sheets. No one's used those rooms for a while so the sheets haven't been washed in a long time. These are clean. Just put the original ones in the laundry room."

"I can help," Kaito offered.

Between the four of them, the rooms were ready in no time. Kazuha had tentatively asked if it was okay for her to leave her windows open. Seeing how uncomfortable she was when the windows were closed, Shinichi couldn't bring himself to say no even if having windows open at night made him wary. It was probably the paranoia talking again, but again, in his line of work, it was far from unfounded. Still, they were on the second floor, Kazuha's room faced the yard, and there were four of them. And Kaito was there. He wasn't sure why, but that thought made him feel a lot less worried.

"It's a pity you have so many rooms," Kaito muttered under his breath as he followed Shinichi back to his room.

The detective cast him a puzzled frown. "Why?"

"No reason." He shrugged. "Well, I'll be next door if you need me."

"Shouldn't I be saying that? I mean, this _is_ my house you know."

"Regardless." Pausing just inside Shinichi's bedroom door, he caught the detective's arm. When Shinichi turned to look at him, he leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on the detective's lips. "Good night."

X

It was a shift in the wind that woke her. Something had altered the way the air flowed through the room. A person? People? But the door hadn't been opened. Neither had the screen on the window. She would have known.

Frowning, she turned over onto her back and opened her eyes—

To find herself looking into a stranger's face. She couldn't make out the features clearly in the dark, but she could see the eyes. They were a luminous green—or, no, they were blue, or was it purple? Red? Could they possibly be orange? Or maybe—

"Sleep."

And she did. She couldn't help it.

X

Heiji had been having a hard time sleeping. He wasn't sure why. Maybe it was just odd to no longer be in the cabins. There was also the presence of that Kuroba guy. Heiji couldn't help but think that it was strange that he had never heard of the magician before, especially considering how he and Kudo were so obviously very familiar with each other. There was just something odd about that. But in the end he was more inclined to blame his current restlessness on the new information on the Hakuren case that Shinichi had imparted to him earlier that day. So the professor really was dead… And apparently no notes regarding her research had been found in her house. What had been found instead was a scrap of a journal proven to be in her handwriting raging about years of wasted research which suggested a possible suicide. After all, with no family, it was possible that hitting a dead end in her life's work might send her over the edge. But, like Shinichi had said, something felt wrong.

Her will donated all of her considerable assets to the university she had taught at, but her university was one of the few such institutes that hadn't actually needed more funds. In fact they had turned around and donated most of it to other institutions and kept the rest for a scholarship fund dedicated to students seeking to study in her former department.

And of course there was the unlocked door and the light the neighbor had reported seeing in her house. A light that had appeared at a time when she had already been dead for weeks. Her key had been too dusty to have been touched recently, but there was no one known to have a copy. Then again, she had been a pretty secretive woman, so that wasn't saying much.

Either way, the light indicated that someone had been there and not reported her death.

He frowned, attention shifting abruptly to the present. What was that sound? It was coming from the hallway outside. Creaking. Maybe some shuffling.

Sitting up, he swung his feet over the edge of the bed and went to investigate. It wasn't like he was getting any sleep anyway.

When he opened the door into the hallway, he expected to see someone else who had been unable to sleep, or maybe someone trying to find their way to the bathroom in the dark. What he had not expected was to see multiple shadowy strangers, one of whom was carrying a limp shape that looked an awful lot like Kazuha. Fear shot through his system like liquid ice.

"Stop right there!" he hollered on instinct, leaping forward. But he was intercepted before he could reach Kazuha and her captor by one of the other intruders. It was a girl, he noted distractedly, and she was much smaller than he, so he was going to just charge past her and get Kazuha, but he couldn't. The girl had grabbed his arm. Her grip wasn't strong, but it didn't have to be. A strange numbness swept through him from the point where the girl's hand came in contact with his arm. It was as though all his physical senses were shutting down one by one. First he couldn't feel the hand anymore, then he couldn't even feel his own limbs. And yet he couldn't seem to feel anything about it—no fear, no surprise, no anxiety. A voice at the back of his mind suggested that the numbness was affecting his emotions too, but he couldn't make himself care.

A few steps down the hall, the figure who had been carrying Kazuha set her down and began to walk towads him. As it approached, Heiji found himself locking onto those eyes. There was something…about those eyes. What color were they? It seemed to keep changing. But that wasn't possible, was it?

They were mesmerizing.

Somewhere far away, he thought he heard people moving around. Maybe even some shouting. But he couldn't…couldn't focus…

X

Shinichi's first reaction when he yanked open his bedroom door to see what the shouting was about was to reach for his belt. Then he remembered he was in pajamas and wasn't wearing it. The few gadgets in immediate reach weren't any help. He had no idea why Hattori was just standing there, but he had a bad feeling about it. Hattori was standing a little too still, with his free arm hanging limply at his side and the other equally limp in the grasp of one of the intruders. He had to stop whatever they were doing. Blue eyes narrowed and he darted forward. Barreling into the person who'd been hanging onto Hattori, he managed to break its grip and push it—her?—into the next intruder in the same motion. That was when he saw Kazuha slumped against th wall. He faltered a moment, trying to see if she was still breathing. That was when hands closed on him from behind, one around his throat and the other over his nose and mouth.

His own hands flew up to pry at the fingers as he was pulled back. He was beginning to see stars. Gritting his teeth, he drove his elbow back into his captor's stomach, but the man didn't so much as flinch. Almost as though he hadn't felt it at all. The hand on his neck let go however and the arm attached shifted to pin his arms to his sides. But when he tried to breathe he choked as his nose and mouth filled with water. It was as though his captor was holding a handful of water over his face.

It had to be an ability, he thought as his vision grew spottier. He struggled to hold his breath, but the water that had already gone up his nose was making it difficult.

What he wouldn't give right now to be that officer who could breathe under water.

X

Kaito had been in the kitchen downstairs when he heard the commotion. He had gone downstairs to grab himself a snack. He had done his best not to disturb anyone while he was at it. Now however it sounded like no one was sleeping at all. Curious, he had made his way back upstairs with all the stealth that came from years of being a phantom thief.

He had almost reached the landing when he had to flatten himself against the railings to avoid getting knocked back down to the first floor by a flailing, yelling mass. Neither voice sounded familiar. Indigo eyes hardened as he bounded up the rest of the stairs to see Kazuha leaning against the wall near him, Hattori standing a few steps away and staring blankly into empty space like a zombie, and a malformed shape even farther away that resolved itself into two figures locked in a fierce struggle. The smaller shape was Shinichi. The other was a much larger man who appeared to be trying to restrain him—or strangle him. Even as Kaito arrived he saw his detective go limp.

Fear and cold rage had him across the hall in less time than it would have taken most people to blink. A blast of sleeping gas had the stranger loosening his grip. The next moment the man found himself sprawled a few feet away as Shinichi fell into Kaito's arms, coughing up water. The magician raised a force field to contain the stranger, another at the top of the stairs to prevent a surprise from below, and another around the house to keep the guests downstairs in before turning his attention to the boy still gasping for breath.

"Shinichi, are you all right?"

It was a few more minutes before Shinichi could answer. When he did, it was with a slightly breathy query. "Where are they?"

Kaito rolled his eyes at that, holding the other closer. Of course that would be what his detective was thinking about. On the other hand, that probably meant he was okay. "No need to worry about that, Tantei-kun, they should be right…" He trailed off as he cast a glance towards the man who'd attacked Shinichi only to see that he was no longer there.

But his force field was fully intact. He _knew_ that. And he hadn't heard any movement. How had the man disappeared?

**TBC**

* * *

><p><strong>A.N<strong>: ^^ And now we begin! Er, part three anyway. I'm rather tired today so I'm going to go now. Hope you enjoyed and see you next time!


	22. Familiar Faces

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

* * *

><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

22: Familiar Faces

They had searched the entire house and the yard but found no sign of the intruders or how they had gotten in. None of the doors or windows had been opened. The screen in Kazuha's room was also fully intact and still locked. What really worried them however was that it had been an hour and Hattori was still just standing there like the statue he'd started to resemble and they couldn't wake Kazuha.

They had tried talking to them and shaking them but neither had responded. Hattori's expression was vacant and his gaze fixed straight ahead. His gaze didn't flicker at all when objects or even lights were waved in front of his face. As for Kazuha… She just kept sleeping.

"If they were both unconscious I would have guessed they'd been drugged," Shinichi said with a frown as he waved the flashlight he'd retrieved before Hattori's eyes again, searching for any sign of a reaction. "But I don't know anything that could make a person act like this."

"Me neither," Kaito agreed, pacing in a slow circle around the detective-turned-statue. And he knew a lot about chemicals, especially ones that might be used to temporarily incapacitate a person without killing them (as well as the ones that did because he didn't want any accidents). "It's like he's in some kind of trance."

"We can't leave them like this," Shinichi sighed, stepping to the open doorway of Kazuha's guest room to check on the girl. They had moved her back to the guest bed. So far she hadn't shown any more sign of waking than Hattori.

"Perhaps we need a more vigorous approach. Do you have a bucket anywhere?"

"There might be one in the closet by the backdoor downstairs."

"Perfect." Kaito vanished in a puff of smoke. A few moments later he reappeared the same way with said bucket in tow. It sloshed as he held it up and grinned at Shinichi. "Care to cool it down for me? Or should I go get some ice cubes?"

Shinichi eyed the bucket then his nice, wooden floor. "Give me a moment." Running to the bathroom, he returned with a stack of towels which he lay down on the floor around Hattori's feet. Satisfied that there was enough absorbent material in attendance, he joined Kaito on the outskirts and concentrated. The magician could feel the air around them growing colder until it felt like they were standing outside in an autumn night. Sticking a finger into the bucket, he nodded to himself. Indigo eyes lighting with a wicked gleam, he erected a force field to keep the water from escaping the awaiting towels then heaved the entire bucket of icy liquid over Hattori's head.

The house rang with a half yell half shriek that made Shinichi jump even though he'd been hoping to hear it.

"What the hell—!" the formerly frozen Osakan spluttered as he glanced around wildly through dripping bangs. Confused, green eyes eventually landed on Shinichi then Kaito and finally the bucket. He stared, thoughts visibly racing in a mad struggle to understand what was going on and why it was happening and drawing a total blank.

"See?" Kaito said, turning to Shinichi with a smug grin. "Worked like a charm. Now for Kazuha-san."

"What? No!" Hattori objected vehemently. "Wait, what're you going to do to her? What the hell is going on here?"

There was a puff of smoke and suddenly Kaito's bucket was full of water again. "And we're just about set."

"Oi! Isn't anyone listening to me?"

"Hold this for a moment will you?" Kaito asked, handing the bucket to Shinichi before turning and walking into Kazuha's room. He returned a moment later carrying the unconscious girl in his arms.

Hattori scowled, taking an instinctive step forward. "Hey—"

"Here you go." The magician deposited Kazuha in the increasingly bewildered Osakan detective's arms and gave him a push just hard enough to send him staggering back to the center of the realm of wet towels. "Now just hold that pose."

Another second later there was another splash and a second shriek rang through the house.

When Kazuha opened her eyes the first thing she noticed was that she was looking up into Heiji's face. The second thing she noticed was that they were both soaking wet. Her clothes were sticking to her uncomfortably but even so she could feel his arms around her. She immediately flushed dark red. This time she shrieked for entirely different reasons.

"Heiji!"

The detective all but dropped her then, which caused her to cry out and latch onto him, at which point he too turned dark red.

"It wasn't me!" he yelled, apparently feeling the need to deny something, though what that something was no one else knew. "It was his fault!" He jabbed a finger at the now laughing magician.

Shinichi clapped a hand to his forehead, not sure if he should laugh or groan. Leave it to Kaito to turn such a serious situation into something like _this_. It was odd but he couldn't feel annoyed. Then again, he supposed that was one of the things about Kaito that made him Kaito.

Once everyone had been calmed and the two Osakan teens had changed into dry clothes, they made another search of the house as Kazuha brewed coffee for everyone. Then they gathered in the Kudo library, still having found no more signs of how the intruders had either entered or left.

"Either way I'm guessing they came in through Kazuha's room," Hattori said, glancing at the girl in question for a confirmation. "Do you remember anything about them?"

"I…don't know." She frowned. "I woke up because the air currents in my room changed. I remember thinking it was strange because the door hadn't opened and neither had the screen on the window. When I opened my eyes, I saw someone looking down at me. I couldn't see what they looked like, but I do remember seeing their eyes. They were…really strange. There wasn't any light but I'm sure they were glowing."

"And the color kept changing," Hattori supplied.

"Yeah, that's right," Kazuha agreed, then paused, turning to her friend. "How did you know?"

"I saw them too," he replied, brows drawing together. "It's the last thing I remember before Kudo and Kuroba here threw that bucket of ice water in my face. Which, I might add, was totally uncalled for."

"I'm sorry if I didn't want a new statue for my hallway," Shinichi grumbled. "So then what happened?"

"Well… I think they said something… Sleep, yeah, that was it. All I heard was someone telling me to sleep. And then I woke up soaking wet."

"And what about you?" Kaito asked, turning to Hattori. "Were you told to do your best still-life impersonation?"

The dark-skinned detective scowled. "No. I heard something so I got up to investigate and saw them taking Kazuha away. I think there were four of them. One, pretty sure it was a girl, grabbed my arm and everything just sorta…went numb. Then I saw the one with the weird eyes. I already told you guys the rest."

"Wait a moment, there were four of them?" Indigo eyes sharpened. "I know two fell down the stairs. Then there was the one who attacked Shinichi, but I didn't see anyone else." And for him not to have noticed…well, it wasn't an easy feat to slip under Kaitou KID's radar.

"I'm pretty sure I saw four, but I guess I could've seen wrong. I wasn't really thinking that much about it."

"I think I might have seen four too," Shinichi added. "But I didn't get a good look either."

"Does it really matter how many of them there were?" Kazuha asked. "I mean, we know they're all gone now…"

"The question is where to," Hattori added.

"_I_ want to know why they were here." Picking up his mug, Shinichi stared into its dark depths before taking a large gulp. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Kaito adding what he thought had to be the fourth or fifth bag of sugar to his own coffee. "They obviously didn't come to steal anything, but it didn't seem like they intended to attack us from the beginning either."

"So we have one person who may or may not exist, one who makes other people go numb with her touch, one person who can apparently manipulate or possibly produce water," Kaito counted off on his fingers. "And someone who appears to be some kind of hypnotist."

Kazuha's eyes widened. "A _hypnotist_?"

"Or some kind of mind controller anyway."

"It would certainly explain a lot," Shinichi mused, earning himself a disbelieving look from his Western counterpart. "Though that begs the question, were the others here because they wanted to be, or were they brought against their will? I noticed the guy who attacked me didn't react at all to an elbow in the stomach. If he was in a trance like you two were, that would make sense."

"That makes sense?" Hattori muttered under his breath, but everyone else ignored him. And he supposed he had to admit it was plausible—grudgingly admit, mind you (though perhaps it wasn't so much that it sounded unbelievable as it sounded believable but he didn't want it to).

"I put a tracer on that guy who was trying to drown me," Shinichi continued. "If we follow them now, we might be able to catch them off guard. See what's really going on."

That Hattori could agree with. "We better move fast then before they find out they were bugged. Then maybe we can start getting answers."

"Hold on there a moment," Kaito cut in. "Did what we just discuss fly right over your heads? What part of running blindly after a hypnotist strike you lot as a good idea?"

"What? Are you saying we should sit around and do nothing?" the Osakan shot back.

The magician rolled his eyes. "No, I'm just pointing out that last time you had a go at these people you didn't exactly do what we would call 'well'. Round two is hardly likely therefore to go in your favor unless you take some precautions."

"What precautions can you take against a power like that?" Kazuha wondered before her eyes lit up. "Oh, I'll be right back." That said, she ran out of the library, leaving the boys to stare after her in confusion.

"Well, we know at least that he, she, or it has only one pair of eyes," Shinichi said into the ensuing silence.

"Or so we believe," Kaito intoned, pitching his voice lower and making it echo ominously.

Hattori shuddered. "Gee, thanks. I so did not need that picture in my head."

"You're welcome."

"I've got them!" Kazuha announced, racing back into the room and proudly holding up a set of colorful charms.

Shinichi stared. "Uh…I don't really think—"

"But it doesn't hurt," she interjected before he could finish, handing one to each of them.

Kaito examined his new charm with a rather bemused smile before making it disappear. "That was thoughtful of you, Kazuha-san. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"Either way, it would probably be best if we kept our distance and avoid looking them in the eyes," Shinichi added. "We're not going there to fight, just to keep an eye on them and see what we can learn until the authorities catch up. Toyama-san, could you call the police and let them know what happened?"

She nodded. "I will."

"Right. You should stay here too," Hattori said, glancing at Kaito.

"Hell no," the magician replied with a bright smile that promised bad things should the suggestion be pursued.

"This doesn't involve you."

Apparently Hattori hadn't picked up on the warning signs. Shinichi placed a hand on the magician's arm. "Kaito, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Hattori watched the two retreat to the other side of the room with growing curiosity. What would they have to talk about that they didn't want him to hear? Well, hopefully Kudo was talking some sense into his friend and they could get a move on.

"I'm not letting you go without me," Kaito said firmly the moment they were out of earshot.

"I wasn't going to ask you to," Shinichi replied, rolling his eyes. "But I do think that maybe _you_ should take my spare glasses to the police." He caught the magician's gaze. He could see that Kaito understood.

"I see. I suppose that would give us more options." He mulled the idea over for a moment then nodded and leaned in to steal a kiss before Shinichi could stop him. "See you later then," Kaito said cheerfully and vanished in a puff of smoke.

Shinichi turned to head out as well. He hadn't missed the fact that Kaito had slipped a tracer on him, but he didn't say anything.

Hattori was staring at him with his mouth hanging open and his eyes round and wide like they were stuck that way. "Did he just _kiss_ you?"

Blushing furiously, Shinichi walked past the gaping teen to get his shoes. "Are you coming or not?"

Hattori trailed after him, still working on dragging his jaw up off the floor. He cast a glance at Kazuha who was a little pink in the face. "You saw it too right? I mean it wasn't like a trick of the light or something?"

Kazuha nodded slowly before she let out a soft gasp. "But I thought Kudo-kun and Ran…" Although now that she thought about it, Ran hadn't been talking about Kudo-kun as much as she used to, and when she did it wasn't quite in the same way that she used to either.

Shinichi popped his head back around the doorframe to frown at Hattori. "Are you coming or not? Kaito's already left. He's going to alert the police, but I'd rather we get there before they do."

"Wasn't I supposed to call the police?" Kazuha asked in confusion.

"Kaito's delivering my spare tracking glasses to them. You could probably call and tell them what happened and that Kaito's on his way to cut down on prep time."

X

"There's a reason you want to get a look at these guys so badly, isn't there?"

"Let's just say I have a hunch," Shinichi replied, pausing to check the blinking lights on the lens before his eyes. "This way."

To Shinichi's surprise, the tracking device led them to Beika Park. At this time of night, the place was devoid of most human life. The trees stood black and imposing along paths turned eerie by silence. It amplified the sound of every step the two humans creeping through the park took, making them stop more often than Shinichi would have liked to listen to the darkness for fear of discovery.

When they finally found their quarry, Shinichi had to grab Hattori's arm to keep him from stepping a little too far and right out into view. The two detectives crouched down in the underbrush and peered out at the park benches. Shinichi had almost expected to find that his tracking device had been ditched, but there were indeed several people out on the benches before them. There were indeed four of them—two male, two female. All but one were seated on the benches and therefore had their backs to the two spying detectives. The last was pacing.

"That's him," Hattori murmured under his breath, green eyes narrowed to slits as he examined the pacer. "I'm sure of it. He's the one with the weird eyes."

When Shinichi didn't answer, he glanced to his left to see his fellow detective creeping slowly away through the underbrush.

"Where're you going?" he hissed after him.

"To get a look at that big guy's face," Shinichi whispered back before focusing all his attention on moving as quietly as possible. Hattori smacked his forehead then remembered he was supposed to be quiet. Deciding one person running around was less likely to be caught than two, he settled back down to watch the scene in the park clearing. The pacing man appeared to be talking but from this far away he couldn't hear what it was.

Shinichi silently cursed the dry leaves and twigs that carpeted the ground beneath his feet. Every time something snapped he felt his heart jump into his throat. But still, he _needed_ to see.

Because if he was right… If he was right, then he would not only have answered a few important questions but also unearthed a whole new set of problems.

With that in mind, he inched his way along the edges of the clearing until he finally reached a point where he could see the faces of the three people seated on the benches.

Blue eyes zeroed in first on the tallest. This was the one who'd attacked him back when they had broken into his house. The minimal light provided by the single lamppost in this part of the park was nevertheless just enough to help him see what he wanted to.

He was sure now. He recognized the man. He had seen his picture among the many that had come with the missing persons files. Twenty one year old Yamaki Ryo and his fifteen year old sister had both disappeared five days after the museum incident which they had purportedly attended together. According to his parents, he had been a very kind person disposed to easy smiles, working towards becoming an elementary school teacher.

The Yamaki Ryo before him now however looked like smiling would probably crack his face muscles. Shinichi had never seen anyone looking so—_blank_.

His gaze moved on to the small girl seated next to Yamaki Ryo. He wasn't particularly surprised to see that it was the aforementioned sister.

"Is it just me, or do they look familiar?" a voice whispered.

Shinichi jumped and jerked his head around to glare at the white-clad phantom who had appeared beside him.

"Don't scare me like that," he hissed, heart still racing. "The point is _not_ to be noticed. Where are the police?"

"On their way. I thought I'd fly ahead and see if you needed any help."

Shinichi nodded and looked back into the clearing. "So you noticed too, right? Those three were all among the people reported missing."

"Indeed. Do you think perhaps that our restless friend there might know where the rest are?"

"I think it's highly possible."

"What do you think they're waiting for?"

"I don't know."

X

Heiji shifted his weight restlessly in his hiding place. Taking his eyes off the four for a moment to scan the rest of the clearing, he frowned. He couldn't see Shinichi, so he could only assume he was hiding somewhere out there. He had no idea how much time had passed but his legs were starting to cramp and what the hell were these people doing just hanging out in the park anyway?

He nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard a phone ring.

In the clearing the hypnotist pulled a phone from a pocket and answered it.

Heiji let out a breath of relief, straining his ears in a vain attempt to hear something. He couldn't hear the man on the phone, but he did hear an increase in the rustling behind him. Then a touch came on his shoulder. Figuring it was Shinichi back again, Heiji glanced back—and let out an involuntary cry of shock.

It was a—a—he couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman. Whatever it was, its skin was brown and rough like the tree bark on the trunks all around them. It stood hunched over, its limbs bent sharply at the elbows like some kind of insect. Each of its fingers and toes ended in a sharp point which looked far too sharp for comfort. But it was the eyes that creeped him out the most. They were perfectly round and black, like plastic buttons.

It leapt at him.

With a yell, he fell backward out of his hiding place and into the clearing. The creature landed on his chest, forcing all the air out of his lungs as its pointed fingers lashed out at his face.

A blur of black and white smacked into the creature from the right, sending it tumbling off of its prey. It let out an angry shriek but the sound cut off so abruptly it was almost physically shocking. Still winded, Hattori struggled to sit up and glanced wildly around. Shinichi was running up to him from the direction the projectile had come from. To his left a soccer ball lay on the grass. It was slowly beginning to deflate. But the rest of the clearing was empty.

"What the hell… Where did they go?"

Shinichi came to a stop beside him, expression grim. "The same way they got into my house. It looks like that fourth one must have some sort of teleporting ability. They grabbed your assailent and hightailed it the moment they saw you. Although…"

"Although what?"

"It seems like whoever called them must have told them we were here." Shinichi held up his tracer which had been left in the grass. "That guy removed this and waved at me before they left. If I had to hazard I guess, I'd say they were here waiting for that call to tell them it was clear to go."

"What? But how? Were we being watched too then?"

"I'm not sure, but I have a few theories."

**TBC**

* * *

><p><strong>A.N<strong>: Whew, almost didn't make it before midnight. ^_^ See you next time!


	23. The Enemy of My Enemy

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

* * *

><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

23: The Enemy of My Enemy

Shinichi and Hattori sat in Megure-keibu's office with the aforementioned inspector, Takagi, and Satou. Each of them had a cup of coffee in front of them now. The two teenagers had just finished recounting the events of the night to the three policemen.

"In conclusion, I think there are two important things we've learned from this," Shinichi finished. "First of all, the leader of the group that broke into my house is somehow able to control others, and I believe that he may be behind some of the disappearances. The three he had with him tonight were Yamaki Ryo and Nazuri, and Uchimura Yui—all of whom were on the missing persons lists. Second, the team he brought with him knew about us and they came prepared. This implies that they either have access to our recent medical files or they've been watching us, or both. I am inclined to think that they might have someone who can either see or know things that are happening far away." Because he didn't think it was likely that they had been watched for so long and so closely without either him or Kaito noticing.

"But what do they want?" Takagi wondered aloud.

"I don't know, but I think it would be a safe guess to say that they came to my house tonight to try and _recruit_ us, if you know what I mean."

Satou frowned. "We're going to have to find a way to let everyone involved with the accident know. If they are behind even half the disappearances, then they've already gotten to quite a lot of people."

Megure grimaced, drumming his fingers on the desk. "This is going to take a bit of planning if we don't want a panic on our hands."

They were met back at the Kudo Manor by Kaito.

"So did you guys catch them?" he asked.

Hattori shook his head. "No. Where's Kazuha?"

"She fell asleep on the couch while waiting for you. Maybe you should bring her back up to her room."

"Right, I'll do that."

Shinichi watched the Osakan trudge into the living room, obviously exhausted, before turning back to Kaito. "I guess now we know how they got away."

The magician nodded thoughtfully. "What I want to know is if it was a coincidence or not that they brought someone who could bypass my force fields." Because the implications of that were unsettling to say the least. "Anyhow, we can't do anything if we can't keep our eyes open. I say we go back to bed for now and work on a plan of action tomorrow."

"That would probably be for the best," Shinichi agreed, covering a yawn.

X

The following morning Hattori and Kazuha returned to Osaka, though Shinichi suspected that Hattori at least would be back as soon as any clues regarding the hypnotist presented themselves. Kaito too took his leave, though not before promising that they would see each other again soon. The house felt suddenly a lot quieter once they were gone—darker too, as though his guests had taken the light with them.

It was funny how he'd never really noticed how big and empty his own house was until he'd gotten used to having guests. It had never bothered him before, and he didn't want to be bothered by it now, but it didn't mean he didn't notice.

It felt like forever since he'd last gone to school.

To his surprise, Ran was waiting for him by Teitan's front gate. She actually smiled when she saw him—something she hadn't done in a long, long time—and waved. He waved back, feeling oddly like he'd gone back in time. Then their eyes met and he knew he wasn't because the person looking at him now wasn't the one he used to see, but the thought didn't bother him. And from the genuine smile on her face, he thought maybe it didn't bother her as much anymore either. It made him feel suddenly much lighter on his feet despite the case still hovering in the back of his mind.

"Good morning," she said as he came into earshot. He returned the greeting and they headed for class, chatting idly about her last few days at camp and when she'd gotten back.

"That reminds me," she said suddenly. "Me, Aoko, and a couple of the other people we met there made plans to meet up at one of the local ice cream parlors after school. Do you want to come?"

Shinichi still wasn't huge on social gatherings, but since she had asked, he agreed.

"I might have to leave early though," he said. "There's a meeting at the station for everyone they could reach on short notice who were affected by the smoke."

"Oh, I heard about that from Sonoko." She paused, then frowned. "I don't think she's planning to go though. Is it serious?"

Shinichi's brows furrowed at the revelation, but he supposed he should have expected as much from Sonoko. Deciding it would be for the best, he quickly outlined the situation, omitting the fact that the threat in question had been in his house once already.

"If you could pass along the information to Sonoko and warn her to keep an eye out, then it probably won't matter that she doesn't go."

Ran nodded. "I will."

And just like that the school day began—a much more normal school day than any had been since Shinichi's return to adulthood. For the first time since then, he and Ran were talking like friends rather than wary acquaintances. It was definitely a nice change.

X

The ice cream parlor Ran and Aoko had selected was right beside the Beika train station so that the people who didn't live in the district wouldn't have to spend too much time searching for it. Even so, the two girls and their companions were still the first on the scene. Shinichi's gaze immediately zeroed in on the young man standing beside Aoko. The teen winked.

"Hello!" Ran called out, beaming as they approached the two. "Sorry we're late. Wasn't Hakuba-kun coming with you?"

"He decided to head over to the station early—you know, for that meeting everyone's supposed to go to later," Aoko explained before snagging Kaito's arm and dragging him forward. "This is my friend—you know, the one I told you about."

"Kuroba Kaito, magician extraordinaire, at your service!" the teen in question exclaimed, pulling out of her grasp in order to sweep into a deep bow and produce a yellow rose for Ran. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh, um, likewise," Ran replied, slightly flustered despite herself.

"And Shinichi!" the magician continued, turning to the detective. "So good to see you again. Thanks for letting me stay over the other day."

"Wait. You two know each other?" Aoko asked in surprise.

"Yep. We're old friends," the magician replied, slinging an arm over Shinichi's shoulders and grinning at the girls. "Isn't that right Shin-chan?"

Shinichi scowled and shoved his elbow back into the magician's stomach. "Don't call me that."

Kaito intercepted the elbow with his free hand, chuckling and shifting so that he was half draped over the detective's back. "Aw, but I like the way it sounds."

"It makes me sound like a little kid," he objected.

"I think it sounds cute~," the magician cooed, smirking as Shinichi made to elbow him again with little more success than the first time. His triumph was short lived however as a book bag suddenly connected with the back of his head. He let go of Shinichi with a yelp and clutched at his head. "Aoko~, what did you do that for?"

"You shouldn't go around harassing people," she sniffed.

"I did no such thing!" Kaito objected, drawing himself up in feigned indignation. "Besides, he didn't mind, did you Shin-chan?"

Shinichi fought furiously against his rising blush. No, he hadn't _really_ minded. Actually he kind of liked being held by Kaito, but much as he loved the truth, nothing in existence—not even Ran in vengeful karate champion mode—was going to make him admit that out loud right now (or ever, as far as he was concerned).

And he was still annoyed about the nickname, so he didn't say anything as Aoko swung her bag at Kaito again with the ease of long practice and the magician dodged in like manner.

Ran watched the two, still idly twirling the flower in her hand, before turning to Shinichi. "Do you think we should go in and get a table first?"

"That's a good idea," Aoko declared, leaving off on her attempt to smack Kaito with her bag and heading for the parlor door. "No point standing outside when we don't know how long we'll be waiting."

Shinichi trailed after the girls with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Kaito fell into step beside him, his own arms folded behind his head. And if they were walking a little closer than was normal, no one noticed.

"So why were you two late?" he asked curiously.

Shinichi snorted. "Can't you guess? We ran into a murder on our way here."

"Well, I must say that I'm not particularly surprised."

"Neither am I." The detective let out a quiet sigh and grimaced. "Maybe I should find somewhere to live far away from human civilization where no one is likely to ever go and see if the crime rate changes or not."

"But it wouldn't be a very accurate experiment if it just turns out that a lot more crimes go unseen," Kaito pointed out. Besides, he didn't particularly like the idea of Shinichi moving to the middle of nowhere. What would be the fun in that?

The four found a table by the windows. Kaito slipped into the seat beside Shinichi and the girls sat across from them. This particular parlor was set up more like a café specializing in ice cream based deserts. Each table was patterned like a different flavor of ice cream with chairs patterned after cones. Even the workers wore ice cream swirl shaped hats, which Shinichi thought was pushing it, but maybe it was just him.

"So how did you two meet anyway?" Aoko asked as the waiter left with their orders.

"We met a while back but we lost touch," Kaito lied cheerfully. "Then we ran into each other again in Beika Park a couple weeks ago and we started hanging out."

"Oh, so is he the old friend you kept saying you were spending time with?"

"Yep. I mean, I had to find _someone_ to spend time with," he added, tone growing teasing, "with you hanging out with Hakuba all the time."

As predicted, she blushed, but further discussion on the matter was interrupted by the arrival of their orders. Shinichi couldn't help but stare at the towering concoction of chocolate ice cream, chocolate chips, chocolate syrup, and even chocolate cookie décor that was set down in front of a madly grinning Kaito.

"Want some?" he asked, catching the detective looking.

Shinichi shook his head vigorously, clutching his coffee and vanilla swirl protectively to him. Just thinking about it made his teeth ache.

"Oh, there's Yamada-kun," Ran exclaimed, waving at the parlor door that had just opened again. "And Erika-chan. Over here!"

The aspiring reporter and a girl Shinichi recognized as the girl they'd played Frisbee with with the elastic pull made their way over and joined the table. It turned out the two were from the same school.

Shinichi sat back and observed as Kaito introduced himself in a flurry of confetti and sparks that all vanished the instant a worried waiter made a beeline for their table.

It was all so surreal, Shinichi mused. He was sitting here now with all these people—and Kaito. It was like the two worlds he'd been living in had collided. It hadn't felt quite like this when it had just been Hattori and Kazuha. Maybe it was because this time someone from Kaito's life was there too. It wasn't just some act put on for the oblivious, anymore. These were the people they lived their everyday lives with. And here they were together.

Things really were changing.

And, oddly enough, they were changing for the better, despite the new problems cropping up on the case front. It was funny sometimes how the world worked.

"What are you thinking about?"

Blue eyes flickered to the side to find Kaito leaning in towards him.

"It's nothing," he said vaguely, not because he didn't want to tell Kaito but more because he wasn't sure how to put the feeling swelling inside him into words.

"A good kind of nothing then, it seems," the magician observed.

Shinichi just shrugged, smiling faintly. Kaito stared at him a moment longer before tearing his eyes away and digging back into the second half of his chocolate saturated dessert. Much more of that adorable smile and he didn't think he could resist the urge to kiss him then and there. But he'd probably get brained by Aoko for it if Shinichi wasn't ready to speak up for him. And while it might be kind of funny to do it anyway just to see what would happen, he knew there was a time and a place for everything (though most people who knew him would probably deny this to their dying day).

X

The whole group headed for the police station at half past four. Shinichi trailed at the back, wondering why Kaito had had that _gleam_ in his eyes when he'd bid them goodbye. He didn't have much time to dwell on it however.

"Kudo-san!"

Shinichi froze. He knew that voice (too well). Part of him really wanted to pretend he hadn't heard it and run but it was already too late. He backpedaled hurriedly so as not to run into the owner of the voice who had just materialized in front of him.

"Mi—Mitsuki-san."

"It's good to see you again! Remember that story I told you I was thinking about writing? Well, I started it, and I was wondering if I could get a few pointers about—"

"Sorry, but can this wait until after the meeting?" Shinichi interjected, trying not to sound too hopeful.

"Oh, right, I almost forgot about that." Mitsuki laughed. "We probably should get in before they start without us."

Relieved at his narrow escape from another endless rant, Shinichi followed the writer into the station

Shinichi took a seat at the back of the room. He already knew what was going to be said—had helped decide some of it—but he wanted to be there to see how the others took the news. He noted with interest that Nakamori-keibu was there too. Aoko had taken a seat beside him and seemed to be introducing him to Yamada, Erika, and Ran (who had tagged along and was familiar enough with the police to be let in). Oddly enough, there was no sign of Hakuba. That made Shinichi frown. Hadn't the blonde told Aoko he was coming here first?

Satou-keiji, who seemed to have unofficially become the spokesman for these occasions, stood up at the front of the briefing room and began to outline the reason for the meeting before moving on into the details. When she finished the room fell into a tense, slightly confused silence.

"I understand how we're supposed to be careful and all that," Mia spoke up finally. "And being alert is all well and good, but you can't expect us to keep looking over our shoulders for the rest of forever. Isn't there anything we can do to actually solve the problem?"

"We will be looking into it, of course," Satou replied. "It's just that we're not sure how long it's going to take us to catch these people, and we wanted you all to be on guard just in case."

"So we're going to have to sit around and just wait knowing that these people might be planning to come after us at any time?" Aoko asked, biting her lower lip as her brows furrowed. She didn't like that idea at all.

"I don't think I'm going to be able to sleep knowing that," Erika complained.

"Me neither," someone else muttered darkly.

"I'm sorry, but that's just how it goes," the policewoman sighed.

"Hey, but if we know they're coming—you know, really _know_—then can't we find them that way?" Mitsuki piped up, sudden excitement lighting in his eyes. "We'll set a trap for them! Then—" His next few sentences disappeared into a blur of syllables, but no one needed to hear them to understand what he was getting at.

The police in the room didn't like the idea. These were, after all, civilians. Most of them were teenagers at that. Truth be told, Shinichi was inclined to agree with them. But he could also see the advantages of the idea. Rather than spreading their resources out thin trying to find their elusive enemy, it would be easier if they could have their quarry come to them.

"Besides, we're in the same amount of danger either way, aren't we?" Yamada said. "If that's the case, we might as well be ready to fight back."

There was a murmur of agreement.

Satou-keiji traded glances with Megure-keibu before she let out her breath in a frustrated huff. "I suppose we can discuss this, but you all realize this doesn't necessarily mean this case is going to close any faster."

"All the more reason to do something about it."

A short debate ensued, but it was fairly obvious to Shinichi which way it was going to end. After all, the police were going to have to watch these people either way. Better if everyone was on the same page. Things were just beginning to wind down and Shinichi was plotting how to escape the room without being seen by Mitsuki-san when a new voice spoke up.

"I'll help too," it offered, making everyone in the room turn. Nakamori-keibu jerked around in his chair so fast you could practically hear the air swish. The other officers from his task force twitched, but it seemed the extended exposure to the thief's presence at camp had somewhat dulled their 'leap at the bandit despite how futile you know it is' instincts.

"KID!" Nakamori roared, leaping to his feet—or trying to anyway. His scowl deepened as he discovered that nothing from his waist down a was moving. It felt as though his legs and the chair on which he was sitting had sunk together into an invisible block of cement.

"Dad?" Aoko asked, confused at her father's odd contortions.

"You're doing this, aren't you, you damned thief?" the inspector roared furiously, banging on the—the whatever it was holding him in his seat.

"Now, now, is that any way to talk to someone offering you his help out of the goodness of his heart?"

The KID task force members present all cringed like one entity with many bodies reacting to the same stimulus as their leader almost visibly swelled with indignation.

"We don't want your help!"

"But you want to catch these people, don't you?" KID pointed out, completely undaunted. "And you have to remember, they seem to know an awful lot about the, ah, _special abilities_ at our disposal." He tilted his head in the direction of the room at large. "Whereas you are mostly in the dark about theirs. Admit it, Nakamori-keibu, you need all the help you can get."

"Not from the likes of you!"

"Aw, don't be like that."

By now Nakamori's face was bordering on purple. If it were possible, he would have had steam coming out of his ears. "We are the police! We do not need the help of criminals to do _our_ job!"

Shinichi stood up and cleared his throat. "Excuse me, Nakamori-keibu."

The older man rounded on him. "What?"

"It occurs to me that this isn't really the time to be choosy. I won't claim to know what these people want, but the fact that they are apparently collecting the people who were effected by the smoke—people who are now able to do unusual and, in some cases, dangerous things—doesn't exactly make me think of friendly get-togethers."

The room fell silent as everyone imagined what the alternatives might be. Uneasy glances flittered about the room.

Nakamori let out a huff and folded his arms, a fierce scowl still etched into his face, but he was no longer trying to pry his legs out of their invisible prison.

"Well," Satou began eventually. "I suppose we have some things to iron out then."

X

When Kaito came in through his bedroom window that night for his customary visit, Shinichi smacked him in the face with his pillow. "You could have warned me you were going to pull something like that!"

The magician caught the pillow and set it aside. "Oh come on, don't be mad. It went well, didn't it?"

Shinichi rolled his eyes and turned his back on the thief. "I thought Nakamori-keibu was going to have a heart attack."

"But he always looks like that," Kaito pointed out, moving to sit on the edge of the bed next to the detective and wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

Shinichi shot him a deadpan look. "Around you, I'm sure he does."

The magician only laughed, producing a small, dark brown paper bag and dangling it in front of Shinichi, who frowned. "What's that?"

"I thought you might be annoyed, so I brought a peace offering."

Curious despite himself, Shinichi tugged the bag out of the magician's hands and looked inside. "It smells like chocolate."

A finger wagged in front of his nose. "Not just chocolate. They're chocolate covered coffee beans."

His grin widened as he watched Shinichi's eyes light up.

**TBC**

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><p><strong>A.N<strong>: I just realized how many new names there are in this story. I hope they're not too confusing… ^^


	24. Surface Tension

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

* * *

><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

24: Surface Tension

"So we are supposed to go about our daily business and wait to be assaulted?" Hakuba Saguru asked dryly.

Aoko nodded, fiddling absently with the strap of her book bag. "We're supposed to try and stay in groups. Fewer targets and all that. They've set up a special phone line for us and a couple other things. Oh, and KID's been given access to the police files regarding this case."

The blonde halted in mid step. "_What_?"

"He showed up at the meeting. It seems he wants to help." Aoko paused then shook her head. "But I guess I'm not really that surprised. I wish I could say we don't need the help, but I guess he was right when he said we need all the help we can get. We still know so little… It's just frustrating. I feel like we haven't had a moment's rest since that night at the museum."

Saguru's gaze softened and he placed his hands gently on her shoulders. "It's going to be okay."

She smiled and hugged him. When she pulled back, she could see that he was blushing. She giggled and tugged on his arm until he started walking again. "So where were you yesterday? You didn't stay for the general meeting."

"I was…getting help," he replied, his gaze skidding everywhere but on her face.

Aoko frowned at that. It wasn't like Saguru to be so vague. If anything he was usually unnaturally precise. "What kind of help?"

He held out for a few more seconds before he deflated. "I made a deal with the Ekoda Park pigeons."

"…Okay." She wasn't sure if she was ever going to get used to hearing things like that from him. And obviously he didn't like saying it either. But they would learn, she mused, because they didn't have much of a choice. "How did it go?"

He relaxed slightly at her casual acceptance of the statement and she wondered if he'd been worried that she wouldn't believe him. "It was more difficult than I had anticipated."

"Really? How so?"

"They did not seem to really understand the concept of deals. However, I have found that they will talk to me if I bring them lots of food." Although most of what they said made little sense to him. Birds, it seemed, didn't find the same things interesting that humans did. "I believe a few of them may have understood that I would give them more food if they told me something unusual. I just hope none of them have a good imagination."

Aoko nodded then smiled. "It is a good idea though. If you want, I can help."

"Thank you. I would appreciate it."

X

"Moshi moshi."

"Hey Ran! How are you?"

"Kazuha," Ran exclaimed, smiling at the sound of her friend's voice on the other end of the line. "I'm doing well. What about you?"

They chatted about everyday things for a few more minutes before Kazuha suddenly fell silent.

"Is something wrong?" Ran asked, worried.

"What? Oh, no, no!" Kazuha said hurriedly. "I was just…wondering… Have you ever heard of someone called Kuroba Kaito?"

Ran blinked. "Is he a magician?"

"Yeah, that's him." The other girl sounded both relieved and nervous. "So, um, you've met him then?"

"Yeah. He seems like a nice guy." And she was glad to know that Shinichi was making friends. "Aoko introduced us the other day. And it turns out Shinichi knew him too. I didn't realize you knew him though."

"Oh, right, well… Heiji and I met him when we were at Kudo-kun's house the day before we came back to Osaka. They, uh…seem rather close, don't they?"

"It looked like they've known each other for a while," Ran agreed, wondering why Kazuha sounded so hesitant.

"Yeah, um, did you think…"

"What?"

"Uh, never mind," Kazuha said quickly then changed the subject, leaving Ran to wonder what she had been getting at.

X

"Aren't you supposed to find someone to buddy up with too?"

Shinichi cast a puzzled look over his shoulder at the thief seated on the swivel chair before turning back to organizing the files he was packing into his backpack. "I'm going to be with the police. I'm pretty sure they'll watch my back. You on the other hand…" He frowned, staring blankly at the clock on the desk as he thought. "If we're right about being watched, then there's a chance these people might know who you are. With the police in the dark, you're going to have to be extra careful."

Grinning, Kaito hopped off the chair and wandered over to drape himself over Shinichi's back. "Are you worried about me?"

The detective stiffened, feeling that increasingly familiar urge to blush. "I'm just saying it as I see it. I know you think you're invincible and all that, but like you said yourself, we don't know what these people can do. What kinds of people they have…"

"Don't worry so much. We're not helpless either. And we've got some of the best brains in Japan on our side. In the mean time, this just means I can stick close to you when you're not with the police."

"This is serious Kaito."

"I didn't say it wasn't. That doesn't mean we have to go around with frowns on our faces everywhere. Now come on, give me a smile~."

Shinichi turned his face away from Kaito's to hide the darkening flush he knew he was sporting. "Let me go. If I don't leave now I'm going to be late to the station."

"Nope. Not until I get my smile. Come on~, it's not that hard, I know you can do it."

"What's wrong with you today?" Shinichi spluttered, trying and failing to wiggle his way out of Kaito's grip.

"Nothing," the magician replied airily, though his eyes were dancing with mirth. "You're the one who was being all gloom and doom all of a sudden. Now what about that smile?"

"Kaito!" Oh no, he did not just whine. He did not!

Kaito was grinning wide enough to split his face in two by now even though Shinichi couldn't see it (not that he had to. He could hear it in the magician's voice). "Nah ah ah~. You're not leaving until you smile for me."

The police were a little confused when Shinichi arrived late without a new murder to report, looking unusually rumpled and maybe a bit bright-eyed. But he didn't offer any explanation, just an apology for his tardiness, and then he went right to work on the cases they had asked him for help with like he would any other day.

X

"Um, Satou-san? Where are we going?" Takagi asked tentatively. "Shouldn't we be staying close to the others? They might need us."

"They have more than enough people hovering," Satou replied, starting the engine of her car and pulling out of the parking lot. "And we won't be gone too long."

"You still haven't told me where we're going…?"

"The professor's university," Satou replied. "We need to know more about her research."

"But the research we need to know about was her private work," Takagi pointed out, confused. "The university already told us they don't have records of the work she didn't do for them."

"I know, but she must have had students. It's possible that she might have said something to one of them. Maybe even had help from some of them."

"Oh, I see." The other officer's eyes lit up with understanding. "That's going to be a lot of people to question though."

"So obviously we have to get started as soon as possible."

X

"Why is that guy following us around?" Sonoko demanded, jerking her thumb over her shoulder to indicate the aspiring reporter who had been trailing after her and Ran on their weekend shopping trip.

Ran cringed a little and cast Yamada an apologetic look which he waved away with a wry grin. "I already explained," she said as she turned back to Sonoko. "It's—"

"Safer in groups," her friend finished for her in a bored voice. "I know, but it's kinda hard to have a _girls'_ day out with him hanging around back there."

"Sonoko…"

The three continued through the shopping center, pausing every now and then to peruse a shop. Yamada kept an eye on the passing crowds, only listening with half an ear to the girls' conversation. He couldn't help but wonder if these people, normal as they looked, were hiding the faces of their enemies.

Enemies. He shook his head at the thought. Never in his life had he thought that he would have such things as enemies. People he didn't get along with, sure, everyone had those, but actual enemies was a different matter entirely. It sounded too dramatic for real life, and not in a good way.

"I'm sorry about Sonoko. She isn't usually so rude. I think this whole situation's just been getting on her nerves."

He tore his eyes off the passing faces to focus on Ran who had stepped out of the clothing store where Sonoko was still buried in the racks to join him in his self-appointed guard duty. "It's okay. I understand how she feels. I don't think I've relaxed since we had that meeting."

Ran nodded slowly. "Me too." Sometimes she wished fewer of her friends had been effected, but of course that wouldn't make the actual problem disappear. On the other hand, most of her friends could take care of themselves. Granted, most of those friends also liked to run head first into danger, but that wasn't changing any time soon either. If it wasn't this, then it would be something else. She had no doubt by now that there would always be trouble for them to run after. Her breath left her in a resigned sigh.

"I'm sure everything will turn out all right in the end," her companion said abruptly, his face set with determination, though Ran couldn't help but notice that he sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

X

"Stop grinning like that Kaito, you're making Saguru nervous."

"Am I?" the magician said absently. "That's good."

She scowled at him, resisting the urge to yell. She had promised herself she wouldn't. Instead she lifted the textbook she'd been reading and whacked him over the head. It was a mark of how distracted he was that he didn't dodge in time.

"Ouch! Hey, what was that for Aoko?" the magician complained, rubbing at the spot she'd smacked and shooting her a wounded look.

Aoko did not look impressed. "We're supposed to be studying. If you aren't going to study, you can at least let us study in peace."

"But I wasn't doing anything," he pointed out. Really, he was used to getting reproached by her for various pranks he pulled and that was fine (she wouldn't be Aoko if she didn't), but this time he really hadn't done anything.

"What were you thinking about?" she challenged.

He paused at that, mildly confused. "Why do you ask?"

"Because you had a really creepy grin on your face," she said bluntly. "What were you scheming? If we screw up this test because you decided now would be a great time to show off your newest trick, I will personally paint fish all over your bedroom walls."

"Hey, hey, no need for threats. I wasn't planning anything, honest." And for once, he was telling the truth. All he'd been thinking about was his detective. Those beautiful blue eyes and the way it felt to finally be able to hold him… Fantasizing about kissing his Shin-chan senseless was an easy way to _not_ pull something on the unsuspecting people in the library. He was, after all, only here to keep an eye on Aoko (and Hakuba too, he supposed). Of course he could have been studying, but the test was for their math class and he could probably ace it in his sleep, so there wasn't much point to studying.

Aoko was still frowning at him, but before either of them could say another word they were distracted by Hakuba jerking in his seat like he'd been electrocuted. Both of them turned now to stare at the blonde who yanked his vibrating cell phone from a pocket. All three teens tensed as the blond detective answered the call.

He listened to the person on the other end of the line for a while before the tension that had been in his shoulders faded and he stood. Shooting Aoko a quick smile, he excused himself to go speak outside where he wouldn't disturb any of the other people in the library.

Aoko let the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding out in a tired sigh. "I'm really sick of jumping every time the phone rings," she murmured, more to herself than to Kaito. "I'm not sure how much longer I can take this waiting."

Kaito watched her for a moment, not liking the pensive look on her face. "So what exactly are you supposed to do if something happens anyway?" he asked finally, figuring that the reminder that there was a plan might help soothe her frazzled nerves. "Or can't you tell me?"

"Well, I told you about the special number already, right? So if something happens, we dial it—don't have to say anything just dial—and it will alert not only the police but everyone else who's working on this. Then we're supposed to make our way to the closest of the three areas where the police have set up…"

X

Shinichi let out a quiet sigh as he sat back for a moment from his half completed math homework to shake out his wrist. His hand was getting stiff from all the writing. On the other side of the library table, Kaito was writing what looked like his English homework upside down. Shinichi wasn't particularly surprised by this, though he did marvel at how quickly the magician could write the foreign language the wrong way up. The magician, he had decided, did odd things like doing his homework upside down to keep himself from getting bored. If it made other people gape, that was just a plus.

"Done?" Kaito inquired, indigo eyes flickering up to meet Shinichi's blue ones.

The detective grimaced. "Not yet."

The magician shook his head slowly, heaving a melodramatic sigh. "I can't believe we're doing homework on a Saturday night."

Shinichi glanced down, feeling a little guilty. He appreciated how often Kaito came over to keep him company, but it had to be dull for him especially on a weekend when he could be doing any number of other things elsewhere. "I'm sorry."

Kaito shot him a puzzled frown. "For what?"

"For making you do homework on a Saturday night…? You know, you don't have to stay here if you're bored."

Kaito gave him the strangest look Shinichi could remember getting from him—and that was saying something—before he cracked a rather peculiar grin and leaned quickly across the table to place a kiss on the detective's nose, laughing as the other boy went cross-eyed trying to watch him. "You, my dear Tantei-kun, are never boring. And I'm here because I want to be. Besides, I have to do this homework sometime, might as well be now. Then you won't have any reason not to go out with me tomorrow."

Shinichi ducked his head to hide the faint blush that had crept into his face. "Did you have something in mind?"

"You'll have to wait and see~."

Shinichi turned his attention back to his homework, trying to ignore the strange warm, fluttery feeling in his stomach. He'd never felt like this around anyone before and it sometimes made him nervous, except that most of the time it didn't.

Kaito watched the detective work for a moment longer, his grin softening into a smile, before he turned his attention back to his own work. They had only just settled back into their former companionable silence when Shinichi's cell phone let out a shrill series of beeps that he had programmed to sound on only one occasion. Leaping from his chair, Shinichi dove for his phone where it was currently attached to a charger. Yanking it free, he scanned the message that had arrived. Blue eyes widened at the sight that greeted them.

"What?" Kaito demanded, coming to stand behind Shinichi and peering over his shoulder. "…Does that say what I think it says?"

"If it says that there were alerts sent from all three hot spots, then yes," Shinichi said grimly. "I don't think we're going to have a lot of free time tomorrow."

Kaito's breath left him in something that wasn't quite a sigh. When Shinichi glanced at him he noticed that the magician was already decked out in his Kaitou KID regalia. Catching his gaze, the thief cracked a grin and swept him a bow, holding out one gloved hand. "Shall we be on our way?"

**TBC**

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><p><strong>A.N<strong>: I need to temporarily cut my internet connection in a few moments to fix some things so gotta go! Hope you enjoyed and see you next time.


	25. Bait and Baited

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

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><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

25: Bait and Baited

When the alert came, Yamada Koji had grabbed his bike and headed straight for Beika Park. It wasn't the closest of the hot spots to his house, but it was the one with the fewest lights. With his supernaturally keen night vision, he figured that would be where he would be of the most use.

Wheeling so sharply into the park entrance that his bike nearly tipped over, he leapt off the vehicle and sprinted in the direction of the shouting. Halfway there he saw two officers lying sprawled out on the ground. His pulse quickened and he dropped down beside them, shaking fingers grasping for their wrists. They both had pulses, but they were weak. They also appeared to be sopping wet.

Cursing silently, he fumbled his phone out of his pocket and called an ambulance before setting off again.

At the heart of the park lay a large, open field. On days when the weather was good people often used the field for soccer games and other recreational sports or simply as a nice place for a family picnic. Now however it looked like a war zone.

Black figures surged back and forth beneath the night sky. To anyone else it would have been impossible to say more about the situation than that, but to the aspiring reporter the darkness was no hindrance.

There was water everywhere. But it wasn't lying on the ground in pools, soaking into the earth like it should be. No, it was writhing and leaping like a living thing—several living things—translucent and almost silent yet clearly not harmless. Like hungry beasts, the water lunged and caught its victims, wrapping them in its watery embrace until lack of air left them limp and helpless in its grasp. Even as Yamada arrived the air cracked with the sound of gunfire as one police officer fired twice at the watery form rushing at him. It was useless.

The reporter spared a moment to wonder how in the world the situation had turned into this. On the other hand, the how didn't seem very important at the moment. Later it would be important, he knew, but right now it was the least of their concerns.

The center of the commotion was a tall man the reporter recognized from photos he'd seen of Yamaki Ryo. The water manipulator, he recalled, not that he couldn't tell just by looking at this point. Strewn around the rest of the field were what looked like just about all the police who'd responded to the call. A handful of non-police were scattered among the victims, some of them more familiar than others. The only person still left standing was the woman who had first dialed in the alarm.

Mia was squared off now against the water manipulator. Yamada couldn't stop himself from gaping for a moment. The woman's entire body was glowing as she crackled with electricity. Her hair was a wild mane around her head, the sparks dancing through it making it look bizarrely like she was wearing a thundercloud. The sparks turned to thin serpents of electricity that wove through her clothes and danced across her skin in eerie patterns.

Her eyes narrowed as she braced her feet and raised her right hand.

Lightning flashed across the field, momentarily turning the night to day, but instead of striking Yamaki, it encountered a whirling wall of water and was promptly absorbed. The water swirled around its wielder, forming a spinning dome of protection that, unlike the watery prisons he had used upon the police, was hollow inside. His flat, expressionless eyes locked with Mia's through the water and she braced herself, calling again to the crackling, buzzing energy that was now coursing through her veins.

"I'm gonna blast you right out of your bubble," she announced as she gathered more and more power into her hands. Before she could finish however the remaining water prisons abandoned their captives to twine together into a single, rushing torrent that roared towards her—a tidal wave on dry land.

There was no way she was going to outrun it, and she hadn't gathered enough power to obliterate it. Gritting her teeth, she squeezed her eyes shut and braced for impact. Instead of the overwhelming, unstoppable pressure of fast running water however, she felt a sudden chill wash over her. It came so quickly and so suddenly that it felt like a physical wave as tangible as the watery one she'd expected to be crushed by. Her entire body went numb with it and for a single heartbeat she wondered if this was what it felt like to die. But then the feeling was gone and the night air rushed back in to wrap her in its comparative warmth.

Cautiously, she opened her eyes. For a moment all she could see was a frosted white. Tilting her head back, she realized that she was looking up at the very wave that had been about to crush her, only it was now frozen solid. She could feel the chill emanating from it to compliment the frost that now covered the ground. Even as she stood there she could see small flakes of snow beginning to fall. Closer towards the man who'd assaulted her, the ground grew thick with snow, an island of winter in the middle of the field. Stepping around the wave, she saw that the dome of water that had been shielding the man was now just as solid as said wave. And standing next to the glittering, frosted dome was a familiar teenager tugging his jacket closer about himself as he eyed the man now testing the insides of the frozen dome. Satisfied that the guy wasn't getting out any time soon, he turned to survey the rest of the field.

"Are you all right?" he asked, spotting Mia.

"Yes, thank you," she replied, curiosity making her trudge closer to get a better look at the dome. The fact that it had been caught mid swirling motion had left rather beautiful patterns in its surface. As she approached however the air grew steadily colder. In her T-shirt and jeans, it got unbearable pretty quick and she stopped still some distance away.

"Sorry, it's radial," the detective apologized, waving a hand vaguely to indicate his personal winter-scape. "I have to be at the middle. You might want to get everyone away from that wave over there. It's going to melt soon and that's a lot of water."

"Already done, and everyone's breathing," another voice called out and they both turned to see Yamada waving at them from where he had just dragged the last of the unconscious bodies out of harm's way. "I think he took all the water away when he went for that final assault, so no one's going to drown," he continued. Suddenly his expression turned to one of alarm. "There's someone else in there!"

Confused, the detective and the linguistics student followed the direction of his gaze to the frosted dome still standing beside the former. From where she stood, Mia couldn't see a thing, but Shinichi stiffened. The shadow of Yamaki Ryo had been joined inside his dome by a second, smaller one. But even as he guessed who it was, both shadows vanished.

His breath left him in an irritated sigh as he let his mental grip on the surrounding universe go and the temperature returned to normal. The ice dome immediately began to glisten then slough away to become a large, muddy splotch on the field.

"I guess we should have expected that," he muttered to himself before turning back to the field at large. "so who here knows what happened?"

X

Kaito did not like the idea of leaving—he wanted to be where he could keep an eye on his (rather accident prone) detective—but the alarm from Ekoda had been sent from Aoko's phone.

"Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," Shinichi had insisted, correctly interpreting his hesitation. "You have to go. You're better equipped to deal with most of what they could be up against than they are."

"The Uchimura girl could be there," he'd pointed out.

"And she might not. You'll regret it if you don't go."

And damnit but Shinichi was right. If something happened to Aoko because he hadn't been there when he could have helped, he'd never forgive himself. But the same held true for Shinichi. Still, Shinichi was more accustomed to dealing with criminals than Aoko was. Hell, the Beika police were rather more used to dealing with these kinds of things than most. So he had opened his glider and headed for Ekoda, hoping he was making the right choice.

The Ekoda hot spot was the sprawling parking lot outside of a plot that was supposed to become a shopping center. Construction had yet to begin however and the place was both spacious and empty almost all around the clock. With no obstacles, Kaito had a clear view of the entire area as he flew over it.

The first thought that crossed his mind was a momentary confusion as to whether he could have gone to the wrong place. But he had a pretty good sense of direction and he was pretty sure this was the place. So when had all the trees moved in? They were all the same height too, and practically the same shape.

On second thought, they didn't really look like trees. A closer inspection revealed that they were moving, grappling with figures that Kaito recognized as police. Every last one of the things looked like a duplicate of the one that had attacked Hattori in the park. He had thought it looked like some kind of tree bark covered stick monster that time too. It had never occurred to him to think that there might be twenty of them though. He'd assumed originally that it was a particularly unfortunate victim of the blue smoke, but that theory looked in need of revision.

The thing was, if they were all the same… Narrowing his eyes, he made another circuit over the lot. Each of the creatures was engaged in grappling with a different non-creature. However though the stick creatures were apparently much stronger than their fragile appearance suggested, their movements were clumsy. So while they were doing a fairly decent job keeping everyone's hands occupied, they weren't making all that much headway in doing any more than that. The three stick creatures on the eastern edge of the parking lot however were an entirely different story. These three had ganged up on two officers Kaito recognized from his task force. One, he knew, had a black belt in Taekwondo. The other was Kimura, the officer who could walk through walls. These three had obviously learned the merits of teamwork. They were circling the two officers, forcing them away from the rest of the melee. The policemen in question had their backs to each other, eyeing the creatures' claw-like fingers with wary eyes.

Tracing the path in which the two were being herded, Kaito spotted the low wall that ran along the lot's eastern border. Indigo eyes had just picked out the form of a person crouched behind that wall when the world vibrated.

The entire city of Tokyo shook as the night sky over the city blazed like the sun had decided on a whim to make an appearance off schedule. When the blaze of brilliance died down to the simmer of flames and the black film of smoke, the city lay in breathless shock around the blackened remains of what had once been the Maruoki Laboratory, one of the newest and largest medical research facilities in the city. The entire building had dissolved, leaving behind it a deep, smoldering crator rather reminiscent of cartoon depictions of a meteor landing site.

In the parking lot in Ekoda, everyone stood frozen, their heads turned in the direction of the explosion. The silence hung thick around them, breathless and stunned as the rest of them. It wasn't until several minutes later that people realized that the bark monsters were gone. Kaito noted with chagrin that the person he was sure had been controlling them had similarly vanished.

Well, no help for it now.

He landed lightly in the parking lot next to a slightly scratched up Nakamori-keibu who was busy inspecting his daughter for any signs of injury. The girl herself was pale but Kaito was relieved to see that that seemed to be it.

Hakuba was the first to notice KID's arrival. "Were you able to see what caused that explosion?"

"I don't have binoculars for eyes, Tantei-san," the magician quipped. "I see you lot do not appear to have had a very successful night."

"There were too damned many of 'em," an officer nearby muttered. "What the hell were they even after?"

"They weren't trying to kill us," Hakuba replied, moving to stand beside Aoko. "It seemed to me that they were stalling us. Keeping us here."

"So we've been used." Nakamori cast another glance in the direction of the explosion, his fists clenching. The sound of a phone ringing made everyone jump. He answered it, turning away from the rest of them as he talked. Kaito was mildly surprised by his discretion. Then again, he supposed even Nakamori Ginzo had to feel a bit subdued at this point.

In the meantime he watched as Aoko turned to Hakuba and began fussing over the cuts and scratches he'd gathered over the course of the night's events and he, in turn, looked her over for any injuries. It still irked him that she was fussing so much over _Hakuba_ and yet she hadn't even asked him how he was—except of course that she didn't know it was him behind the monocle. It made him wonder though if it would make a difference if she did. It was something he wondered on and off, though now that he thought about it the matter hadn't been on his mind half as much these days as it used to.

"Everyone who can is heading over to the Beika station," Nakamori announced as he returned, voice gruff. "Is everyone going or does anyone need a ride home?"

Five officers were sent to escort a few of the younger people present to their homes as the rest of them separated into smaller groups to goard the squad cars.

That settled, Nakamori turned to eye KID before grudgingly opening his mouth. "Are you coming?"

"I'll fly," the thief replied, smirking. It really was funny watching the older man struggling to be civil. No need to push him.

Besides, KID was not riding inside a police car (unless he was driving, he amended, that would be okay, but he doubted any of the officers would willingly lend him their keys. Maybe some other day). It was the principle of the thing.

X

"So Yamaki approached Miss Salinger at the library and asked to talk. At the same time Nakamori Aoko notices that she is being followed," Megure-keibu ticked off on his fingers. "And, again at miraculously almost the same time, someone grabs Aizawa Erika's bag and runs off with it. When she goes after them, it turns out the purse-snatcher's got some _unusual_ friends. Then while we're all busy, someone demolishes an entire research facility. And of course by the time we get there there's nothing left and the best we can say is at least no one got killed!" Though they'd still had to send people down there to evacuate the immediate area while they determined if any dangerous chemicals had been unleashed.

"They most likely took something before they destroyed it," Shinichi said grimly. "But now we'll never know what."

"A—and Mitsuki-san's gone," Erika spoke up from where she had been huddled on a chair in the corner of the briefing room, her face pale. "He pushed me out of the way when one of them tried to grab me and she got him instead and then they just both disappeared."

There was a beat of uneasy silence.

"That was probably Uchimura Yui, the girl who can teleport," KID said finally, regarding them all from behind an impassive face as he perched on the sill of the room's only window. "I doubt they would hurt him. Although I suspect we will now need to keep an eye out as he may not be all that friendly next time we meet."

"So basically they knew what we were up to, used it to distract us, probably so they could steal something," Yamada summarized, "and then destroy the lab they stole from?"

"The damned bastards are taunting us!" Nakamori exploded.

Shinichi would have liked to be able to tell him he was wrong, but he knew it was the truest thing that anyone had said that night. No one had mentioned the worst part yet though. He waited as murmurs of unrest raced around the room. As he waited for someone to bring it up, he catalogued the faces around the room. That was odd. Where were Satou and Takagi? Ran wasn't here either, though if he remembered correctly she was supposed to be sleeping over at Sonoko's—in one of her family's vacation homes, not the one in the city, so he supposed it would have been stranger if she _had_ shown up.

"What bothers me," Hakuba said as the din began to simmer down, "is that this means these people knew exactly what we had set up."

And there it was. Shinichi watched the way people's faces changed at that. Shock, horror, suspicion, concern... All expected enough. The reactions all looked genuine to him, and he had pretty good instincts about these things (his slightly excessive amount of experience didn't hurt), but maybe he should consult Kaito later just to be safe. There were definitely advantages to having allies who knew how to step into other people's skins. Kaito was better at reading people than anyone he'd ever met (and certainly better at it than most people probably liked him to be).

The Detective of the East pinched the bridge of his nose as the room abruptly erupted back into a frenzy of voices. This, he thought ruefully, was going to be a long night.

**TBC**

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><p><strong>A.N<strong>: On a side note, Shalyr and I are putting together a website called Phantom Destinies archiving our DCMK fics and art. It's not completely done yet, but you're all welcome to visit ^_^ The address is: https:/sites(dot)google(dot)com/site/phantomdestinies/


	26. Sheep's Clothing

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

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><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

26: Sheep's Clothing

The students of Teitan High couldn't help but stop and stare that morning when they caught sight of Kudo Shinichi strolling across campus. It wasn't because he was the famous Detective of the East, they were all used to that by now. No, what made them stare was that none of them had ever seen the generally neatly groomed detective looking like he'd not only just rolled out of bed but maybe stuck his finger in an electric socket as well. There was also something off about him—the way he moved, the way he carried himself—just _something_ that none of them could exactly place their fingers on. It made him look almost like he was someone else entirely, but of course that was ridiculous.

Wasn't it? After all, who could it possibly be if it _wasn't_ Shinichi? All considered the detective wasn't known to have any siblings. A cousin maybe?

The curious eyes continued to follow him as he made his way through the school's hallways. The closer he got to his destination however, the more confused the looks he got. He grinned and waved, doubling their confusion.

The more fanciful students of the school wondered if maybe Kudo had been abducted by aliens and replaced.

Then the door to Shinichi's homeroom banged open and the anomaly swept in to a sudden shower of colorful paper stars that exploded like miniature fireworks. Some people screamed, some people stared. Among the latter was one Kudo Shinichi. Or at least he was among them until indigo eyes found his and the newcomer's face split into an even broader grin.

"Good morning Shin-chan~!"

At that everyone in the classroom swiveled first to each other, trying to figure out who in the world 'Shin-chan' could be, before all simultaneously reaching a conclusion and redirecting their gazes to look at Shinichi. The detective sank lower in his seat, wishing that the ground would open up and swallow him. The staring only got worse as Kaito vanished from the doorway and reappeared in the as yet unoccupied seat beside him.

"_What_ are you doing here?" he hissed at the grinning magician, trying to talk without actually opening his mouth as he could still feel the weight of the class all looking at them.

"I came to see you, obviously," the magician replied as though he thought Shinichi should really have known this already.

"What about your classes?"

"They were canceled," the magician replied with a careless shrug. "Ekoda High falls just inside the danger zone around that lab that blew up, so we've been warned to stay away until the surveyors give us the all clear."

"Oh, I heard about that," Ran spoke up from where she had just taken her seat behind Shinichi. "Do they know what caused it yet?"

The detective and the magician traded looks before the former spoke, voice quiet. "We know who, but not how—yet. The police are going over it now. I'll be heading over after school to see if I can help, although I think I can guess what they're going to find."

Ran looked from one of them to the other then back again before understanding dawned and she dropped her gaze. "Oh."

Around them the rest of the class was beginning to settle back down, some still casting curious looks at the intruder in their midst. Shinichi breathed out a silent sigh of relief at that. He wondered if he could convince Kaito to at least not use that dreadful nickname where lots of other people could hear. Maybe if he was unusually lucky, no one would remember it by the end of the day.

"So who're you?" Sonoko's voice reached their ears as she slid into the desk next to Ran's and turned speculative eyes on Kaito. She looked him up and down then frowned. "I don't think I've seen you before. Did you transfer?"

"Nope. I'm just visiting." Kaito waved a hand airily, simultaneously pulling two yellow roses out of thin air and presenting one to each girl with a winning smile. "I promise I won't be a bother. You won't even notice I'm here."

Shinichi couldn't stop a snort at the ridiculous claim. It wasn't that Kaito couldn't be inconspicuous—of course he could, thief that he was—but considering his less than subtle entrance it was quite a lot too late to be saying things like that.

Sonoko on the other hand seemed to be taking a shine to the stranger and his charming smile. She was pouring forth a stream of questions, some personal, some not. Kaito met all the questions with his customary grin, neatly avoiding giving away anything more than basic information while simultaneously prying all sorts of tidbits out of his conversation partner including some things Shinichi hadn't even known (and he'd known Sonoko since elementary school). It was kind of funny how her face scrunched up occasionally as somewhere in her subconscious she realized that there was something not quite right about the flow of conversation, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

With the teacher yet to show up, others began to drift towards the newcomer as well with questions of their own.

For his part, Shinichi stopped listening to the exchange in favor of getting a little extra work done.

By lunchtime Kaito knew the names, personalities, hobbies, and habits of everyone in Shinichi's class. They, in turn, knew only his name, that he was an old friend of Shinichi's whom he'd lost touch with until recently, and that he was a magician from Ekoda High. Even so, a quick show at the beginning of lunch and Kaito had made sure that everyone in the school would at least have heard his name by the time classes let out for the day. It was, he reflected with an inward smirk, a rather productive morning all round. And once he was thoroughly established around here, he could start introducing Shinichi into Ekoda's everyday life.

It would have been even better though if he hadn't looked around after taking his final bows to discover that Shinichi was gone. Kind of miffed by this, he hid his annoyance behind a pleasant smile as he turned to Ran.

"I don't suppose you know where Shinichi might have run off to?"

X

The sky was so blue. Looking up at it, it was hard to believe just how many problems were bubbling up all around them.

And yet it didn't feel quite as suffocating as it had a few days ago. Probably because, even though they had indisputably lost the battle the other night, they hadn't come away empty handed. They now knew a large portion of the city where their adversaries weren't (that being the area around the lab currently swarming with police and scientists). In addition, a comparison of the times when the girl with the teleportation abilities had been sighted implied that she could not have been the bark-monster manipulator's escape route. So wherever he or she had gone, it had been through more mundane means. Of course there was the possibility that the person had vacated to a pick-up spot, but at least now they had more to work with. There had to be clues. They just had to look for them.

And then they would rescue Mitsuki-san and everyone else who'd been taken away.

He had also received a call from Satou-keiji that morning asking him to meet her after school before he headed over to the site of the explosion. She hadn't wanted to say much over the phone, but he gathered she and Takagi had managed to make contact with one of Professor Hakuren's research assistants.

"It's good to see you're finally taking a moment to relax," a familiar voice remarked.

"Kaito," Shinichi greeted, not bothering to sit up from his comfortable spot on the sun-warmed roof.

"So you do remember me."

Shinichi blinked and turned his head to get a better look at the magician, mind drawing a blank at the peculiar comment. "What?"

Kaito rolled his eyes. "Why did you leave without me? It's kind of hard to visit someone when they up and vanish the moment your back is turned."

"You were busy," Shinichi pointed out, returning to his contemplations of the sky. "I didn't want to interrupt."

"I wouldn't have minded," the magician informed him. He leaned sideways to smile down at Shinichi, noting that while his detective still looked tired, he didn't look like the only thing keeping him running was five cups of coffee in the morning as he had a few months ago. The expression on his face now was sleepy and he had obviously been teetering on the verge of dozing off when Kaito had arrived. The magician decided he liked that expression. It made the shadows he was all too used to seeing on Shinichi's face disappear. On a whim he leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on the other's lips.

Shinichi wondered if maybe he was dreaming. His drowsy brain was painting everything with warm, hazy edges.

Blue eyes fluttered shut and soft lips parted. A warm shudder ran through his spine.

For a moment—seconds, minutes, hours?—they were the only people in a world of blue skies and sunlight.

Right now all he could think about was how he wished they could stay like this forever.

Then reality came crashing back down around them as the school speakers crackled to life to call a student to the office. Remembering exactly where they were, Shinichi blushed and broke the kiss. He frowned when Kaito shifted his weight to prevent him from getting up.

"Kaito, we're at my school," he reminded, shooting an anxious glance towards the door leading back into the building.

The magician followed his gaze then shrugged. "No one's going to come up here."

"We did," he pointed out, placing his hands on Kaito's shoulders to stop him from leaning back down. Kaito had been getting bolder lately. And while Shinichi didn't really mind (kind of liked the attention), it also made him a little nervous. He'd never been this close to anyone before. "Please?"

Indigo eyes held his for a long moment before the magician backed off (though not before stealing another, less intimate kiss). "I suppose you're right," he said, though personally he didn't care if they were seen or not. If he were to be totally honest, he _wanted_ people to know that Shinichi was his. But he could work on that later.

"I could always set up a few things, make sure no one can get up here," he suggested anyway, then laughed at the look on Shinichi's face. Where had he put his camera again? "Just kidding. So are you hungry? I assume you haven't eaten yet, since you left your lunch at home and you obviously didn't buy anything." With a snap of his fingers, a small, colored cube appeared in front of them. He grabbed it and held it up. He made a show of turning it over so that his audience of one could see all its sides and its tiny size. Then he began to unfold it. With each fold, it got bigger, and bigger, and bigger until it became—a full sized picnic basket. "Bon appetit~!"

Shinichi stared at the basket for a moment then laughed, shaking his head. "Were you hauling that around all morning?"

"Nope," came the cheerful reply as the magician began pulling containers from the basket.

Shinichi watched, amazed despite himself at just how much stuff Kaito had managed to pack into the thing. "Isn't that a bit much?"

"Mom says you should keep anything we don't finish."

"I keep getting this feeling that you two are trying to stock my kitchen."

"Well," Kaito drawled, indigo eyes twinkling, "you do need it. And mom likes to cook, so it works out great all 'round."

Shinichi glanced down, feeling a sudden lump in his throat. He took a moment to gather himself. "I still think you're exaggerating about the state of my pantry, but, uh, could you thank her for me?"

Since he hadn't looked up yet, he missed the soft smile Kaito was giving him. "Sure. You know, you could tell her yourself sometime if you come by for dinner. Maybe next Saturday?"

Shinichi did look up then, surprised blue eyes meeting the magician's expectant ones. "I… Are you sure?"

"Of course. You don't have to be nervous, you know," the magician added. "She doesn't bite. So how about it?"

Shinichi nodded slowly and Kaito beamed.

X

When Shinichi arrived at the Beika police station, he was a little nonplussed to find it deserted. Of course he knew most of the force was out either scouring the city for likely hiding places and examining the lab site, but usually there would have been at least a few officers left at the station to hold down the fort, so to speak, deal with paperwork, and respond to any possible new calls for help. Were they really that pressed for people? Had something else happened?

"Kudo-kun, you made it."

Starting, Shinichi turned to see Satou-keiji come out of one of the inner offices. So maybe there were some people around after all and just no one on the front desks (it didn't…_feel_ like that was the case though. He just couldn't put his finger on it. Something about the office…).

Thoughts still buzzing with the strange feeling that had gripped him the moment he stepped into the station, he followed Satou into the office she'd stepped out of and took a seat. He noticed Satou take a moment to look around outside before shutting the door and sitting down herself. Was she afraid of being overheard?

"As I told you this morning," she began, getting straight to the point as usual. "Takagi and I visited Professor Hakuren's university a few days ago. We asked around and discovered that while she didn't usually have student assistants in her research, she did recently start working with two of the more promising students in her department. We were able to talk to one of them."

Shinichi straightened, his pulse quickening. "Were you able to learn what she was researching?"

"She taught neurobiology, but her interest was in the, for lack of a less dramatic phrase, powers of the mind. Or the potential anyway. You know how they say humans really use only a small portion of our brains. She wanted to know what people could become if they were able to actively utilize more. More recently she was experimenting with chemical stimuli."

It was how clean everything was, Shinichi thought even as he took in what Satou was saying to him. That was what was odd. All the parts of the station that he'd seen were perfectly neat and orderly. Not a single folder out of place. It wasn't that the place was ever a pigsty, but he had never seen the station quite so orderly in the middle of the afternoon. It was…like someone had tried very hard to put everything in its rightful place.

"Satou-keiji," he said slowly, frowning as he lowered his hands into his lap, still holding pen he'd been using to take notes. With his hands out of sight, he flipped the pen over and pressed the tip as quietly as he could against the bottom side of the desk before him.

The woman was gazing back at him, her eyes oddly flat behind the grim intensity they had been sporting throughout her explanation. Now that he was focusing on her rather than the strange feeling lingering in the station he realized that even though she was standing right before him it still felt like she was a million miles away. "Yes?"

"Where's Takagi-keiji?"

When her dark eyes flickered to his left, Shinichi threw himself to his right and out of his chair. He almost made it to the door. But then something flickered in the corner of his vision and he tripped over a foot that hadn't been there a moment ago. Twisting, he hit the door with his shoulder rather than his head. Then he was looking up at both Satou and Takagi. Where Satou was still looking at him with that grimly serious look she'd been wearing all afternoon (like a mask she'd been told not to take off), Takagi's face had no expression at all. Shinichi recognized that flat, not-quite-there look.

This, he reflected, was not good.

**TBC**


	27. Mastermind

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

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><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

27: Mastermind

He couldn't find Shinichi.

He hadn't shown up at the lab site like he'd said he would. He hadn't called and he hadn't answered his cell. He wasn't at home, hadn't gone back to school, wasn't anywhere on the route he would have taken to get to Ekoda, and wasn't at the police station where he'd said he was meeting Satou and Takagi.

Thinking Shinichi might have been roped into a case again, he'd eavesdropped on police communications, and found them to be uninformative. Weirdly uninformative, as it turned out. Either the police had unanimously agreed not to use the radio today, or no one was talking. Or at least no one in Beika. He did catch the occasional report from elsewhere.

And that was why he was now inside the Beika police station. The very empty Beika police station.

He found Shinichi's backpack in one of the offices. It was on the floor beside an overturned chair. Of Shinichi himself however there was no sign. A sense of dread began to bubble up in his chest as he paced slowly around the office. Should he call someone? But who? The police were just as absent as Shinichi was.

His eyes landed on a long, dark shape and he crouched to pick it up. It was an uncapped pen. If Shinichi had been here and if he'd run into trouble, he might have tried to leave a message. They did, after all, deal in a world of puzzles and hidden signs. Kaito sat back for a moment, thinking. He wasn't a detective, but he _was_ a master of the art of deception. So where would he write a message if he didn't want to be seen doing so? It couldn't be on anything too easily removed, and it couldn't be somewhere too easy to spot. At the same time it couldn't be too hard to find either.

He paced around the room again then dropped to his knees and crawled under the desk. Craning his neck, he squinted up at the underside of said desk. It didn't take long for him to find what he was looking for.

He stared at the rather squiggly writing for a long moment before letting out a quiet curse.

X

"I'm coming with you."

Heiji let out a frustrated sigh, tugging hard on the bill of his cap. "Kazuha, it's going to be dangerous. It—"

"I can help," she cut him off impatiently. "I've been practicing."

He paused at that. "What?"

"I said I've been practicing," she repeated, tone patient but firm. To demonstrate, she lifted a hand and made a sweeping gesture. The door to her room slammed shut and Heiji jumped. Then she turned and made another gesture. The backpack that had been sitting on her bed rose like a buoy on a swelling wave. It bobbed over until it was close enough for her to pluck it from the air and sling it over her shoulders. This close, Heiji could feel the tug of the edges of an air current—the outermost edges of something powerful but narrow and tightly controlled. Then Kazuha let it go and it all billowed out in a light swirl of wind that made everything loose in the room flutter and rattle before it died down to nothing more than the light breeze seeping in through the open window.

"You…that…"

"I told you I've been practicing." She met his gaze with determined eyes. "I can help. I mean, I can do something now, really _do_ something. You can't expect me to sit around and just wait when I know that."

"I…" He began then swallowed. "Fine, but you have to promise me to be careful. Your dad'll kill me if I let you come and you get yourself hurt."

X

It really was kind of funny, Aoko thought, hiding a giggle behind one hand. She'd never thought she'd see Saguru like this.

The blond detective was sitting beside her on the grass of Ekoda Park. He had set a large bag of pigeon feed between them and was scooping handfuls of it out and scattering it across the ground around them every so often. And of course there were the pigeons themselves. They had gathered around the two humans in a feathery carpet of grays and browns. If it wasn't for the way his brows were furrowed in concentration, she rather thought they would have made quite the picture of a couple on a quiet day out.

Every now and then he would ask one of the birds a question and it would burble back. Usually it just made him frown more and rephrase his question, but at other times he nodded and rewarded the bird with its own handful of food. She really wished she could hear what he was hearing.

"What are they saying?" she asked finally, unable to suppress her curiosity any longer.

"Not much of interest," he replied with a quiet sigh. "Many of them are displeased with the explosion the other night." To be more precise, they had been going on and on about humans and their inconsiderate ways, but he didn't think it was necessary to tell Aoko that.

"Do they know who did it?"

"As far as I can tell, no. But as they are diurnal animals that is only to be expected."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that." It had probably been too much to hope for anyway.

"Although, I have been trying to figure out what this thing about disappearing homes is about."

"Disappearing homes?" Aoko blinked, looking around again at the birds. "As in their homes are disappearing? Were they caught in the explosion?" The thought was rather horrifying and she scooped a few extra large handfuls of bird feed for them. She couldn't imagine what it might be like to come home one day and find out that the place had been obliterated.

"If that were the case, they wouldn't be here either. They keep saying that some human came around a few days ago and…" The blonde frowned as he sorted through his thoughts. "The best way I can come up with to summarize what I've been hearing might be that this person came, and then the trees disappeared one by one, and then the person left. They weren't cut down. They just fell apart when they were touched, and then they were gone."

"That's…strange…"

"Indeed. It sounds almost like the trees walked."

"Walked?" Aoko straightened suddenly as a memory flashed across her mind's eye. "Do you think it might have anything to do with those monsters that attacked us? The ones that looked like they had tree bark for skin?"

"I…suppose it is possible," Saguru said slowly.

"Did they say where those trees were?"

"I'll see if I can find out."

X

He could hear the hum of machinery. His head ached with a dull kind of throb that echoed through every muscle in the rest of his body. The moment he was aware enough to form coherent thoughts he wished he could lie down and go to sleep, but he couldn't. There were several reasons for this, not the least of which was the realization that he was currently tied to what felt like one of those plastic chairs that always seemed to have been designed to be uncomfortable.

"Hey Boss, I think he's awake," an unfamiliar voice said somewhere over his head. It sounded like a teenage male, Shinichi noted.

"Really?" another voice, also male but older, responded accompanied by the sound of approaching footsteps. "Well, good evening, Kudo Shinichi. You can stop pretending you're not awake you know."

Deciding there wasn't much point in hanging onto the charade either, Shinichi opened his eyes, keeping his gaze low just in case one of the people in the room turned out to be the one with the color changing eyes. "Why did you bring me here?"

The man standing directly in front of him shifted and Shinichi could hear the smirk in his voice. "You wanted to see us, didn't you?"

Shinichi let his gaze inch slowly up to the man's chin. He was probably in his early twenties, neatly dressed with an average build. "I take it you were the research assistant Satou-keiji and Takagi-keiji found."

A faint smile flittered across what he could see of the man's thin face. "It certainly made things easy for me. 'We have a few questions we were hoping you could answer for us'. 'Why, of course, if you'll just step this way, I know somewhere quieter where we can talk'. 'Megure-keibu, we found someone who says he has some important information regarding Professor Hakuren, we're bringing him down to the station'." He laughed. "People can be so easy sometimes. Tell them what they want to hear, and they play right along."

"What have you done with them?" Shinichi demanded. The air in the room began to grow colder. He could feel the frost creeping spreading across the floor from his feet but for once he didn't care to draw it back.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"I don't know what you're talk—"

Sudden pain blossomed in his left side as the other occupant of the room whom he'd almost forgotten made his presence known with his fists. The chair must have been bolted down because it didn't move. Shinichi bit back a cry as he doubled over.

"If my shoes get wet I'm breaking something," the culprit snapped.

The frost dissolved as Shinichi struggled to catch his breath. Glaring out of the corner of his eyes, he saw a teenage boy he was surprised to realize he'd seen before. It was the guy Ran had said was being a jerk the morning of the day he'd left campm.

"—still say it'd be better to just get rid of 'im," he was saying.

"Don't be so hasty, Chu," the man Shinichi wa sure by now was the hypnotist chided. "This is my world now. We can afford to be patient."

"Your world?" Shinichi asked, managing a sarcastic tone despite possibly bruised ribs.

"Indeed. The world of the newly awakened. The world of possibilities. However you would like to see it. We aren't all here yet, but now that I have you and my own police, the others will eventually follow. It is just a matter of time."

"What do you want from us?"

"What do I want?" he repeated, sounding oddly bemused. "Hmm. Let's see. Maybe I will orchestrate the beginning of a new race. Those who have gone beyond humanity—no, that's not quite right is it? Those who are able to truly be what humanity can become. That sounds fun, doesn't it?"

"Fun?" Shinichi repeated, half incredulous and half confused. This almost lighthearted carelessness was not what he had expected from the mastermind behind their troubles. "That can't be it. What do you really want with us? What did you take from that lab?"

He smiled, looking honestly amused. "Do you like video games, Kudo-kun?"

He frowned at the irrelevant question. "Not particularly."

"That's too bad. But you have played them before, yes?"

"Some."

"Then perhaps you will understand if I say that you could call it a game. It's not about what's necessary, it's about what's possible. What can I do with all these powers at my disposal?" He smiled. "It should be fun to find out, don't you think?"

"No, I don't."

"Come now, you've been dealt a pretty good hand by all this. Don't tell me you don't find it the least bit exciting."

"_Exciting_? Is that all this is to you? Don't you care how much pain and turmoil some people have had to go through because of this?"

"Of course I care. You can't play a game with broken pieces after all. Take Sakura-chan here," the man said, waving towards the door where a girl Shinichi recognized had just walked in. She paid them no mind as she approached Chu and the two stepped aside to talk. "I took away her fear and her distress. She is no longer in pain. In fact, she now has full control over her abilities. If it wasn't for me, she would still be stuck in that ridiculous tank in the hospital."

"You took away her feelings?" Shinichi asked incredulously, horrified at the implications.

"Most of them, yes," came the casual response. "It was the most efficient way."

"You can't do that!" he spat, glaring. "You have no right!"

"But I can," the man countered, voice growing abruptly cold. "And don't tell me what I do or don't have the right to do, Detective. I don't think you realize the position you are in. It would be in your best interest not to upset me. I could order you to hate your best friend or love your worst enemy. I could make you sleep for the rest of your life or send you out there to catch your allies for me. You wouldn't even know it wasn't your own idea."

Shinichi stiffened, a thrill of fear racing down his spine despite his best efforts to suppress it. "You wouldn't—!"

The hypnotist stepped closer, leaning over his captive. His hand snaked out to grip Shinichi's chin, forcing his head up. The detective immediately shut his eyes tight, his entire body thrumming with tension.

The hypnotist laughed. "You can try to hide, Detective, but when the time comes, that isn't going to help you." He let go and stepped back, still smiling. "You amuse me, Detective. I think you should play a little longer. Yes, l want to see your face when I win my little game."

X

Indigo eyes stared at the paper in his hands. He had gone back to his house where he'd told his mom that he would be working on a project at a friend's and might be staying over and that she should really accept that invitation to spend a few days in the mountains with her coworkers. It would be good for her (and it would hopefully mean she wouldn't be around if something untoward happened). Then he'd swung by Shinichi's to pick up a few things he'd left there before deciding on what to do next.

That was where he'd found this note tacked not to the door but to the library window (one of his favorite entries).

And the thing was, it was addressed to KID.

**TBC**

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><p><strong>A.N: <strong>This fic seems to just get longer and longer. It's already longer than I expected it to be and more bits keep coming up! Anyhow, thanks for reading and see you next time!**  
><strong>


	28. And the Curtain Rises

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

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><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

28: And the Curtain Rises

The hypnotist had left with Sakura. It seemed whatever news she'd brought, it was something he'd been waiting for. With him gone, Shinichi was now free to examine his surroundings more closely. It was a decent sized room with several chairs. Something that looked like a conference table had been pushed up against the far wall under a large screen probably used for projections that a presentation might require. Shinichi could see his cell phone lying on the table. Were they in some kind of office building?

The one called Chu was currently seated in a chair by the conference table with his feet up on it and his chair tilted precariously back. In his hands he held a sheet of paper which he was casually shredding and rolling into tiny, paper balls. Every time he finished a ball, he would close his hand around it for a moment then toss it into the air where it would go off like a miniature firework. Occasionally he would throw the ball too high and the explosion would leave charred marks on the ceiling, but that only seemed to make him grin. Obviously he enjoyed the power.

"You were the one who destroyed the lab, weren't you?" Shinichi stated more than asked as he watched yet another miniature explosion go off.

Chu didn't even bother looking around. "Yeah, what of it?"

"Why are you working with that man? He's obviously a nutcase."

That got him a laugh. "Don't need a reason to do something fun, do you?"

Blue eyes narrowed in a mixture of incredulity and distaste. People who resorted to violent crime because they thought it would solve their problems weren't likable, but they were at least marginally better than people who did it for fun.

As Chu continued to play with his exploding paper balls, Shinichi turned his attention to the ropes that had been used to tie his hands behind the back of the chair. They were tied very tightly, but testing it he thought he might be able to wriggle his way out of them. In the meantime, he thought of summer days—long, hot, _lazy_ summer days.

X

They knew he was coming, all considered they were the ones who'd invited him, so technically he could have just walked in the front doors. But Kaito hadn't gotten to where he had by thinking like that. Even if they knew he was coming, he could still pick the entrance that would best be to his advantage. They hadn't specified a time, so presumably whoever had been able to tell them which of Shinichi's windows to attach their note to could also tell them when he would arrive and maybe even how he would arrive. That meant picking a door that would be easy to exit through at speed and not too easy to block off. As any existing door or window could probably be rigged to jam inconveniently when shut, he decided to make his own.

Even so, he was actually kind of surprised that he wasn't ambushed the moment he removed the glass from a sixth floor window and stepped inside. It was actually a bit of a let down. He'd been all prepared to deal with them, and here they were standing him up. Some people had no manners.

Still, it was always possible that they were waiting to ambush him elsewhere.

Tugging the brim of his hat lower over his eyes, he headed deeper into the building.

Pushing open the door, he padded silently out into the corridor and immediately spotted the woman standing alone only five steps down the hall. She didn't move when he appeared and indeed it seemed like she had been expecting him. She had the palest eyes he had ever seen—almost white and filled with an eerie light. He tensed slightly, making sure not to look her straight in the eyes in case that glimmer meant something.

The woman herself made no move to approach him or do anything other than speak. "I told them you would not be coming until nightfall."

The magician's indigo eyes narrowed. "You're the one who's been spying on us."

It was a guess but she nodded, not even a hint of surprise flickering in her face.

"What do you want, Ojou-san? You didn't come here just to tell me that."

Was it his imagination or had she flinched when he said that? If he'd been in a more charitable mood, he might have felt more inclined to wonder why. But if she was indeed the one who'd been gathering their information, then she had caused them all a damned lot of trouble.

"I have a favor I wished to ask of you," she said finally, her voice quiet but level. "I will tell you where to find your friend regardless of your decision, but I hope that you will grant my request if you can."

That was certainly interesting, Kaito thought. "I'm listening."

"There is something I would like you to acquire for me, if you would." With the deliberate slowness of someone who knew sudden motions might land them in a sticky situation, the woman reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper. She placed the paper on the ground and slid it as far forward as she could before taking an extra step back from it. "The substances and quantities are written here as well as the safest way for you to contact me."

Kaito glanced at the paper then up at the woman. "What is your name, Ojou-san?"

She blinked, her expression momentarily bewildered before she recollected herself. "Sukino."

No surname, Kaito noted, but he hadn't really expected one. "Well, Sukino-san, I will consider your request, but I cannot make any guarantees. It may be in your favor, however, to explain why you are making this request."

"I… There is something I need to do." She looked away, lips pressed tightly together. "There is…something I need to fix. I promise you that I do not mean you or your allies any harm."

He could tell that there was a lot between her words that she wasn't saying, but there would be time to ponder it later. For now he retrieved the paper and carefully tucked it away for later perusal. "Well then, I believe there was something else you were going to tell me?"

X

Just looking at the place, Aoko couldn't tell if there had been trees growing there before or not. What she could say however was that the ground was churned up and there were bald patches in the grass like where it would thin near the base of a tree.

"Looks kinda like someone's been digging around, but I would've thought there'd be more damage if they'd actually dug up whole trees," a voice mused from somewhere behind her. "You sure that's what the birds say happened?"

"As I have already told you many, many times, no," Saguru snapped in response. "They say a human came and made the trees disappear."

"Yeah? And how's that different?"

Aoko sighed. They had run into Hattori Heiji and Toyama Kazuha on their way here. The two had apparently gone to the Beika police station and Kudo-san's house and found them both empty and wound up in Ekoda as the next most likely place for finding activity. Aoko was happy to see them again, not having expected to anytime soon seeing as they lived in Osaka, but then the arguing had started—or maybe it was more accurate to say that it had never stopped. She recalled Saguru and Hattori-kun sniping at each other back at camp too. She didn't really get it though. After all, they were both detectives, and pretty good ones at that. Or perhaps that _was_ the problem? It was actually kind of funny when it wasn't annoying. From what she'd garnered from their arguments, she suspected that deep down they might be harboring at least some respect for some of the other's accomplishments, but the difference in their approaches and personalities caused them to want to deny it as vehemently as they could without putting it in so many words. It made her think that they might actually be able to learn something from one another if they would shut up for a moment and listen with both ears instead of their pride.

"From what Hakuba-san said earlier, I think it sounds kind of like maybe if whoever came—I don't know, turned the trees into something else." Kazuha paused, frowning. "Does that make any sense?"

"As much sense as we seem to be having these days," Aoko replied, looking thoughtfully at the ground again. "But you know, if the trees really could retract their roots themselves then up and go somewhere, it would explain why the ground isn't more torn up than it is."

"The idea certainly brings those creatures from the other night to mind," the blonde murmured, glancing at the few trees that remained in the area. "If the rest of them were of the same species as the trees remaining, then the bark color and texture would match."

It was Hattori's turn to stare at the trees in question. "So…someone came, turned these trees into, what, monsters? And then walked them to the Ekoda hot spot without anyone seeing?"

"The place isn't really that far from here," Aoko told him, raising a hand to point. "And there are several narrower streets and alleys that way they could have used where there wouldn't have been much light."

"So what happened to the monsters then?"

"They disappeared when everyone was distracted by the explosion."

"And since they're not back here, shouldn't there be some new grove elsewhere? I mean, whoever was controlling them certainly couldn't have run off trailing them and not gotten caught."

Three pairs of eyes turned to Hakuba who coughed. "I don't know, but if you give me some time I can ask."

X

Shinichi let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding as the rough rope finally slackened as they slid over his fingers. The skin of his wrists and on his knuckles felt raw from being scraped against the rough material as he twisted and tugged to loosen his bonds. Now however there was the matter of his feet. Glancing up, he spent a few moments studying Chu's slouched form at the conference table. The indoor 'fireworks' display had tapered off slowly over the past hour or so (he couldn't actually tell how much time was passing, there being no window and no clock). The entire room was currently full of warm, still air that seemed to weigh down on the senses and drag at the eyelids. It felt just like those broiling, summer afternoons when no one wanted to do anything. And it seemed his lackluster guard had succumbed to its call.

Satisfied that he had some time, Shinichi began working at the remaining ropes. It took longer than he would have liked with his fingers feeling stiff and shaky. As the last knot parted he wiggled his toes and rotated each ankle a few times to get the blood flowing before cautiously getting to his feet.

Now for his things. Walking as silently as he could, he approached the slouched figure at the table. It didn't move. His phone was lying mere millimeters from Chu's elbow. He held his breath as he picked the little machine up.

A tingle went through his fingertips when they brushed against the surface of the table. It was as though the wood had been painted over with a thin layer of static electricity.

Blue eyes met smug brown ones.

Chu grinned. "Boo."

Shinichi jerked his hand back, narrowly avoiding getting grabbed, and hooked one foot behind the nearest leg of Chu's chair. With a yank, he dumped the other teen onto the floor and headed for the door. Behind him he heard a startled curse as the entire room filled with a crackling, yellow let emanating from the table.

X

Kimura Genichirou had been working in the KID task force for almost three years now. It was…well, it was hard to describe exactly what it was like to work in the KID task force, but what it wasn't was boring. The problem with things that were not boring was that they often made a person wonder why people complained about boredom. He had been subjected to everything from humiliating costumes to pudding showers and even once, horribly, a ride down the city street in a wheeled tub of bubbling bath water. That was something he wished he could forget, but the problem with memories like that was they tended to stick better than the strongest superglue (and boy did he have some terrible memories of superglue). This was not the kind of thing he'd expected when he'd decided to be a policeman. He'd had some notion about catching criminals and making the world a better place. He hadn't signed up to chase some lunatic in a hat every few weeks while the general public cheered for said lunatic. He just didn't have Nakamori-keibu's relentless determination, though he could admire it.

He had actually made up his mind to get a transfer. And then the museum had happened and suddenly he had to pay close attention lest he find himself with his head on one side of a closed door and the rest of him on the other. He knew some of his fellow officers thought it should be cool, but they hadn't had to spend half a day half in and half out of a brick wall, wondering if that was where they were going to die. Of course it was a little better now that he knew how to get himself unstuck next time he found himself in a similar position, but still… That sensation of being stuck in something—not just caught like a hand through a too-small opening but actually melded into whatever it was at the time with bits of you mixed in with bits of it and—it was just…ugh. He couldn't find the words for how _disturbing_ it was.

He had been trying to see the silver lining though since he knew some people who had things a lot worse than he did. For instance only that morning he had been able to fetch his car keys after forgetting them inside the vehicle by reaching through the door. He couldn't retrieve anything much bigger than a key that way, but when the problem was a lock that was really all you needed.

It didn't, however, stop him from being late to the meeting. Weeks later he would look back and shake his head, bemused at the small blessings you could only ever see in retrospect.

He leapt out of the car and raced into the station. He wasn't looking forward to explaining why he was late to Nakamori-keibu, but as long as he didn't miss anything important it shouldn't be a problem. He was on the night shift today and looking forward to a night of good old patrolling after the craziness of the last few days.

When he pushed open the door to the briefing room, he'd expected to come in to a reprimand after which he would find a seat and listen to the night's assignments. What he found instead was a room full of the bluish glow of the large television monitor which was usually used for playing news clips. It was flickering over the still faces of his fellow officers who were, every last one of them, staring fixedly in its direction. No one even noticed him coming in.

Confused and naturally curious, he turned to follow their collective line of sight. The television screen was displaying one of the news channels that were often displayed there. The logo in the corner was one he was well acquainted with, although it didn't have the usual name of the speaker typed out across the bottom. The speaker in this case was a man most likely in his twenties with the neatly groomed demeanor of a professional and eyes that—that—

He hadn't been paying attention to what was being said, but now he clamped his hands over his ears and spun around away from the screen that was dragging at his eyes like a flame calling to a moth. Even that brief moment had been enough to send a strange, numbing wave through his system. Launching into a bout of tuneless humming to drown out the words being spoken, he turned to the nearest of his fellow officers, sent the man a silent apology, and kicked him in the shins.

No reaction. It was just like how Kudo-kun and Hattori-kun had described. The people who looked into the color-changing eyes went almost instantly into a trance.

But what the hell was the man doing on television? How had he even gotten there? Presumably it had to be a live broadcast. The idea of powers like those being active through a mere recording were—well, unthinkable in the way that you hoped terrible things could not happen. But that would mean he was currently _at_ the television station? Why would they let the man use their equipment?

He nearly smacked himself at the thought except that he didn't want to risk uncovering his ears. The guy was a hypnotist. Of course they let him in. The poor unsuspecting station employees probably didn't even know what hit them!

And now… Now who knew how many people were seeing the broadcast right now.

What was the guy planning? What was he saying into all these empty, waiting heads?

Part of him really, really wanted to know. All he had to do was put his hands down and listen in. He wasn't looking at the guy after all, maybe it wouldn't matter. But he couldn't be sure, and the risk was too great to take.

What he had to do was find a way to snap his fellow officers out of their trance. Kudo-kun had said that it was difficult but not impossible. Victims could be snapped back to themselves by a severe, physical shock. So what could he do?

For a moment the idea of walking through his fellow officers crossed his mind, but he dismissed it. While shocking, that kind of shock was mental, and he would probably be the only one really horrified by it. Traumatizing himself wouldn't help anyone. Maybe—

The scraping back of the chair legs he'd been staring at made him look up. Every single officer in the room had stood up.

And they were all looking at him.

They weren't friendly looks. Nor were they unfriendly. They were just—looks.

Somehow that was worse than anything else they could have been.

So he did the only thing that he could think of and ran.

**TBC**

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><p>A<strong>.N<strong>: A little late, I know, but here's the chapter! Hope you enjoyed. I'm going to be out of town next week so my updating schedule is going to be bumped back a week. So I'll see you in three ^_^ Thanks for reading!


	29. Ripple

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

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><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

29: Ripple

"So how do we know if these weren't here a week ago?" Kazuha wondered, looking up at the grove before them.

"Just look at the grass," Heiji replied, poking at said vegetation. "It's too think 'round the roots. Usually it should thin near the base. Not enough sunlight and all with the canopy overhead. Remember those bald patches around the disturbed ground at that other place?"

"But if these trees really did all appear overnight, wouldn't someone have noticed and said something?" Aoko wondered aloud.

The Osakan detective shrugged. "With everything else, a few unexpected trees in the wrong place might not stick out to people, especially if they're not looking for it. Not everyone pays attention to their surroundings everyday. And even if they did, people are probably more likely to think someone bought some trees from a nursery to plant."

"Except that if that were the case you should be able to see signs that they were recently planted," Hakuba added. "Which is why I believe we can assume that these trees did not arrive here naturally. They appear to have simply slipped into the ground without disturbing the surface."

"Then shouldn't the people who work in this building have noticed at least?" Aoko pointed out, glancing up at the tall office building whose lawn the trees had planted themselves in. "That's a television station, isn't it? They have to have employees going in and out all the time. We should go talk to them."

"It's getting late though…" Kazuha glanced up at the deepening blue of the sky.

"That just means we should hurry," the other girl replied, starting off in the direction of the front doors. "I mean, we're already here. This shouldn't take long."

X

When he rounded a corner to see Shinichi running down the hall towards him, Kaito would admit to being mildly surprised. But he was also relieved because if Shinichi could run that fast than he was probably unharmed. On the other hand, while it would have been nice to think that Shinichi was running because he was happy to see Kaito, it was obvious that what he was really doing was running away from something. Although the hallway behind him was empty. On the other hand, that didn't mean much these days.

"Shin—" he started to say, scanning that empty hallway, but he was cut off as Shinichi grasped his hand without slowing down and started half dragging him back the way he'd come.

Running backward wasn't exactly the world's most effective mode of travel, but it did give Kaito a great view of the explosion as it rocked through the hall. Yellow light blazed across the walls and Shinichi stumbled, losing his hold on Kaito. The magician took the opportunity to swap the hand holding Shinichi's as he threw up a barrier behind them and broke into a sprint. Now he was leading the way back through the maze-like building towards the room he had entered by.

"What was that?" he demanded as they ran.

"Guy called Chu," Shinichi panted, casting another look back over his shoulder. "He was the one who blew up the lab. Seems to be able to turn things he touches into bombs."

"Sounds pleasant. Another one of Hypnotist-san's little henchmen?"

"Yeah, except he's a volunteer," Shinichi replied grimly. "He seems to think it's some sort of game. The leader too."

"That's all very interesting, Shin-chan, but perhaps you should tell me this later?" His question was emphasized by another explosion from behind them.

"But do you know where we're going? Come to think of it, how did you find your way here?"

"_Later_. We don't really have the cover of silence anymore."

Chu, who probably knew the building better than they did, caught up to them as they skidded into a wider hall where they spotted the stairs Kaito had been looking for. Unfortunately, they also spotted the man standing a few steps up them. It was the elder Yamaki. So instead of taking the upwards stairs, Kaito swerved without slowing and headed for the descending ones. Something small and white that looked suspiciously like a golf ball whizzed past them as they did so and an instant later the floor and walls shook with another explosion. Pieces of plaster flew.

Shinichi's foot slid off the step it had been on and he crashed into Kaito, sending them both down the stairwell as yet another glowing golf ball soared after them. The magician had the presence of mind to pull up a wall between them and the projectile. The sound of the following detonation was muffled but it didn't stop the walls from rattling.

That was when the sprinklers went off. Kaito raised another force field to keep the water off them, but they could both see it slithering to the floor and beginning to pool. Their eyes met as the same thought passed between them. Whether set off by the explosions or some other reason, Yamaki Ryo was soon going to have a lot of water to work with whether or not he could get down the stairs. If they didn't get out of here soon, they would very likely be unable to leave. And while they could probably keep themselves protected, they wouldn't be much help to anyone trapped here.

"We should just make a run for it before we have to swim," Shinichi said, scrambling back onto his feet as Kaito did the same.

"What's wrong?" the thief asked sharply when he saw Shinichi wince.

"Nothing," the detective replied. "Just twisted my ankle a little. It'll be fine in a few minutes."

"We don't have minutes. Here." Turning around, he crouched and glanced over his shoulder at his companion. "Hurry up. I'll let you down when it feels better."

Under other circumstances, Shinichi would have argued, but he could already see the water beginning to lap at the edges of the force field. It would soon be like being in the opposite of a fish tank. So he let Kaito help him onto his back. A few moments later they set off again, water splashing around the magician's feet as he let the force field go. Kaito reflected absently that he preferred carrying Shinichi bridal-style because then he could see the other's face, but this was more convenient if he needed his hands in a hurry, and there were certain other perks.

Shinichi squawked and thumped him none too gently on the shoulder. "Watch where you're putting those hands!"

"Sorry, couldn't help it," the magician replied, sounding entirely too unapologetic as he shifted his hands so they were under the smaller boy's knees. He grinned to himself as Shinichi thumped his shoulder again. "If you aren't going to hang on properly yourself, I'm going to have to adjust my grip, and then you won't have the right to complain where I put my hands because it will be your fault."

He didn't have to be able to see Shinichi's face to know that the detective was blushing. Shinichi's arms returned to their position around the thief's neck as he grumbled something about how people who professed to having good manners should learn to respect other people's personal space. All around them the sprinklers continued to make it rain indoors.

X

The lobby was deserted but for a single receptionist seated at the front desk. She looked rather young, Hattori noted. Like she should be their own age. She wasn't dressed for her job either in a T-shirt and jeans. He would have expected something more formal.

"How can I help you?" she droned as she looked up at them with disinterested eyes.

"We had a few questions we were hoping you could help us with—"

"We're not open to visitors right now. Please leave."

"This won't take long ma'am," Hakuba began, stepping forward. "We—"

"We are not open to visitors," the girl repeated flatly. "You can call to make an appointment."

"We just want to ask you a question," Hattori protested. "We don't have to talk to any of your bosses or anything. All we wanted to know was when those trees out there were planted."

The girl opened her mouth in a manner that suggested she was going to tell them to leave again but she paused. One hand reached up to adjust something in her ear. Then she stood. "I don't have time for this, but if you want to talk to someone you can go to the waiting room. I will be there when my shift is over."

The four traded confused looks as the girl turned to lead the way to a room off to the side of the lobby.

"Why can't she just answer?" Kazuha wondered in a whisper. "It should only take like ten seconds."

"I looked to me like someone just told her not to send us away," Hakuba replied, speaking so quietly that the others had to strain to hear him. "I would recommend we keep our guard up."

As if on cue, there was a loud bang from somewhere deeper in the building. Even muffled by distance and intervening walls, it still roared. Four pairs of eyes turned up to stare at the ceiling. The receptionist however didn't even bat an eye.

"What—" Hattori started.

"This way."

Another distant rumble.

"Didn't you hear that?" Aoko demanded, unable to keep her mouth shut any longer.

All she got in return was another bland, emotionless look. "It's nothing. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must return to my post."

That said she left them in the waiting room and disappeared back out the door.

"What in the world…?" Shaking his head, Hattori plopped down onto one of the many chairs scattered about the room. "Man this place is weird. We actually going to wait?"

There was another bang and they all glanced up again. It had sounded a lot closer.

"Maybe we should leave," Kazuha agreed, frowning uneasily. "It feels…really strange up there."

"How so?" Hakuba asked.

"I—it's hard to explain. It's just usually the air inside of buildings is very tame. Here though… And I feel like I can hear running water."

Hattori straightened. "You know, I think I can hear it too."

"I saw a bathroom sign right outside the door. Maybe someone's using the restroom next door?" Aoko suggested.

"Only if they have showers in there." Even as he spoke the sound of water grew exponentially louder. It sounded as though there was a river running right over their heads. The two detectives traded looks. Then they both started towards the stairs, determined to get to the bottom of the peculiar sounds. Alarmed, Kazuha too took a step forward.

"No! Don't—!"

She didn't get to finish.

It was like a waterfall had just burst forth from the stairwell. The torrent swept all their feet right out from under them and smashed the lighter furniture up against the walls. Then it was pouring out through the open door into the corridor leading to the lobby and the water level fell, leaving behind six coughing, spluttering teens.

Aoko was the first to notice the extra people as she'd been the farthest from the stairwell and hadn't been hit as strongly by the passing wave.

"KID!" she screeched in shocked displeasure. As she did so the lights overhead shattered and the room went abruptly dark. There was still enough light coming in from the open door for them all to see the thief in question as well as the dark-haired figure in a blue jacket who'd washed in with him.

"_Kudo_?" Hattori gaped in disbelief. Scrambling to his feet, he started towards the other detective only to crash headlong into a wall that materialized right in front of him.

"Oi!" he exclaimed, pounding on the barrier until he realized that his fist was making no sound at all on the solid sheet of nothing. "What the hell is going on here?"

On the other side of the milk colored barrier, Shinichi pushed his soaking bangs out of his eyes and glanced around. "Was that _Hattori_?"

"And the rest of the peanut gallery too, unless my eyes were deceiving me," Kaito agreed. Fishing his hat out of the currents sloshing around their feet, he put it firmly back on. That had been a little too close. The last thing he needed to deal with right now was Aoko seeing his face. He frowned suddenly, squinting through the gloom. "Do you see that?"

"If by 'that' you mean the water moving, then yes. I think we'd better get going."

The water was beginning to get up—it was rising in long tendrils like cobras rising before a snake charmer. Hattori, Hakuba, Aoko, and Kazuha stared. KID cursed and dropped his force fields . Still holding Shinichi's hand, he ran for the door.

"Move it!" Shinichi shouted at the others as they passed them.

Galvanized by both his cry and the watery serpents, the rest of the room's occupants recollected their wits and followed. They still didn't know what was happening, but it didn't take a genius to see that now wasn't the time to debate it. Their steps slowed however as they skidded out of the corridor and into the lobby.

The girl from the reception desk was standing in front of the main doors very much like a sentry. "Imazaki-san has been waiting to see you all," she said as they approached, voice flat but hard. "None of you are leaving."

"Like hell," Hattori retorted, continuing forward with every intention of just pushing past her. But his progress was halted as Shinichi grabbed the back of his shirt.

"No! She can be like acid. She'll burn right through you."

The Osakan detective froze.

"There should be a back door." Hakuba turned back the way they'd come. He started as the sprinklers in the lobby sprang suddenly to life and a spray of water droplets slapped him in the face. Waiping the water hurriedly from his eyes, he looked up just in time to see something small and white flying towards his face. He ducked automatically but the object—a golf ball?—collided with an invisible barrier before it could reach him.

At which point he was blinded by yellow light as the thing exploded. When he could see again it was to the unpleasant sight of two new obstacles. One of them was idly tossing another golf ball up and down in his hands like someone about to skip a pebble across a pond.

Beside him, Aoko looked from the advancing menace with the golf balls to the tall, grim form of the elder Yamaki to the receptionist who probably wasn't actually the receptionist whom Kudo-kun and KID seemed to think was more dangerous than the golf ball bombs judging from the way they both appeared to be calculating routes headed that way. Then she looked at the floor covered in its thin layer of water and the reflection of the late evening sky in that water. The sky peeking in at them through the large windows all along the front and side walls of the lobby. Well, the normal exits were both blocked. KID probably had ideas, but she wasn't about to ask _him_, and she had an idea of her own.

Taking in a deep breath, she screamed as loudly as she could.

X

Ran hummed quietly to herself as she moved about the apartment's small kitchen. Somewhere in the background the TV murmured, but she paid it no heed. Every once in a while she would cast a look into the living room to see her father slouched on the couch like he usually was. Then she went back to her work.

Over the years, cooking had become a time when she could lay all the worries of the day aside for a while and just relax. She had decided to try a new recipe for chicken she'd seen on the internet. So far it was smelling delicious.

She was just dividing the chicken into plates when she heard a clatter from the living room. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw her father had dropped the remote on the floor and stood up.

She frowned, opening her mouth to tell him to pick it up, only to pause as she saw him turn abruptly on his heels and head for the door.

"Dad?" she called after him in confusion, moving towards the living room. The phone hadn't rung, so it couldn't be a client. "Dad, where are you going? Dinner's just about ready. Dad?"

He didn't answer. He paused to put on his shoes then opened the door and walked out.

"Dad!"

The door shut.

Dumbfounded, Ran stood for a moment in shock. Then she ran to the window and looked down into the street. Sure enough, there was her father walking down the sidewalk.

But he wasn't the only one. People were pouring forth from almost every building along the street. They all turned as they emerged to walk in the same direction. None of them looked at anyone else or spoke to each other. They just turned and walked. Ran spent a long moment just staring down at the bizarre sight. Then she ran to the phone and began to dial.

**TBC**

* * *

><p><strong>A.N<strong>: Er, I know it's kind of scattered, but unfortunately it's going to be that way a little longer before everyone meets up ^.^ See you next time!


	30. Escape

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

* * *

><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

30: Escape

Glass shattered. Glittering shards flew in every direction and rained from the ceiling where the lights sputtered and died. No one had to be told to run. The six teens bolted for the empty frames that were all that was left of the windows. Behind them neither Sakura or the elder Yamaki moved until Chu started shouting at them. Which, Kaito reflected with some amusement, was the problem with drafted help. No self motivation.

Of course that didn't mean they couldn't run fast once they'd been told to.

The other problem, of course, being that even though all six of them had known to run when the lights went out and the windows opened, they hadn't all run in the same direction. Heiji, Kazuha, and Hakuba had run towards the right while Shinichi, KID, and Aoko had gone left. The inspector's daughter noticed this just as she leapt over the few jagged pieces of glass still in the frames and her steps faltered but a gloved hand caught hers and she was being dragged out into the night. She tugged on her captured hand in a futile attempt to free it.

"Let go of me!"

"Do you want to be caught, Ojou-san?" the thief's infuriatingly calm voice inquired even as his steps sped up.

"Of course not! But Saguru and the others—"

"They'll be fine," Shinichi interjected as he ran along beside her, letting the thief lead the way. He gave her a reassuring smile before looking back over his shoulder. He could just make out the shape of someone coming out of the TV station behind them. Now that he thought about it, why weren't there more of them? Not that he wanted to be chased down by a pack of supernaturally powered lunatics and hypnotees, but it was still strange. Where was everyone? The hypnotist? The police? Mitsuki-san and the others?

"Kudo-kun!" Aoko reached out and grabbed the detective's arm, yanking him sidways and saving him from a headlong collision with a telephone pole.

"Keep your eyes forward, Tantei-kun. You can analyze the situation when we've lost our tail."

No one said very much after that. Fifteen minutes later the sounds of pursuit had completely disappeared. The three slowed and came to a stop beneath a streetlamp. Its orange glow cast a stark shadow over most of KID's face as he finally allowed Aoko to yank her hand out of his grasp. She immediately took a step away from him, turning to look back the way they had come. For several moments she just stared, searching, then her shoulders sagged a fraction and she returned her attention to her two companions.

"I'm sure they got away too," Shinichi told her, guessing at the reason for her disappointment.

She nodded. "Yeah. I guess we could always give them a call."

"No," KID cut in. "If they're hiding, a phone ring will give them away."

Aoko frowned but apparently the argument made sense to her because she didn't argue. "How are we going to know they're okay though?"

"Can your doves find them KID-san? Since Hakuba-san can understand birds now, they could tell him where he and the others should meet us."

"It's worth a try." The thief flicked his wrist and produced—a dove. It fluffed its feathers then looked up at him expectantly. He turned his back to the other two so they couldn't see what he was doing. A moment later the bird flew away followed by a second then a third. "We will head to the Ekoda clock tower," he announced when he returned to them.

Aoko stiffened at the announcement. The thief however ignored the glare she had set on the back of his head and continued down the street. Shinichi glanced from one of them to the other and back again as they walked. It was difficult to reconcile the two people before him now with the argumentative but caring friends he knew they were in normal life. Watching Kaito striding along there with that unreadable grin that meant nothing as the girl he'd told Shinichi had been his best friend for years drilled metaphorical holes in his hat with the heat of her gaze made Shinichi's heart ache. It was just—wrong.

He knew how hard it was to have to lie all the time to someone you cared about, but at least Ran had cared about Conan. It was clear that Aoko despised KID. It had to bother him, but nothing showed on the magician's face. It sent a chill down Shinichi's spine. He hadn't realized until that moment how accustomed he had become to seeing Kaito without his masks.

X

"Ran, you should so have come with me. I just found this really cute shirt—"

"Sonoko, something strange is going on."

Pause. "Oh, great. It's not more of _that_ stuff is it? Can't the police deal with it?"

"It's not that exactly. It's just… My dad just walked out."

"What?" Now Sonoko sounded completely confused. "You're calling me just to tell me your dad decided to go out? Honestly Ran, what about that do you find worth worrying about?"

"He didn't tell me where he was going. He didn't even seem to hear me when I called him. He was just watching TV one moment and the next he drops the remote and goes. And it wasn't just him. Almost everyone on my street was doing it."

Sonoko sighed. "You're not making sense Ran. What—hey, what are you doing? Let go of me you jerk!"

"Sonoko!" Ran called worriedly, fingers tightening around the receiver. "What's happening? Are you all right?"

There was a thump on the other side of the line and a distant "Take that!" then several seconds of muffled noises before Sonoko's voice came back, sounding slightly out of breath. "Something weird's going on here. All these people just came marching into the store and started grabbing everyone! I'm probably going to have bruises on my arm tomorrow, the jerk! I swear it's like everyone here's gone totally insane!"

"Find somewhere to hide and I'll come find you."

"I'm by the mall's east entrance."

"Right. Just wait there." Setting the receiver back down, she stuffed her keys into her pocket, grabbed her cell, and ran for the door. Outside the street was now deserted.

As she ran she dialed Shinichi's number but he didn't pick up. Next she called Aoko who also didn't pic up. Frustrated, she tried Yamada's number. This time the phone rang twice before a groggy voice reached her ears.

"Hello?"

"Yamada-kun, this is Ran. Um, are you all right? You sound a little strange."

"Huh? Oh, no, no, I'm fine," he said quickly. "I just woke up from a nap. Did you need something?"

"I'm sorry if I woke you, but something's wrong." She summarized what she'd seen and heard for him

When she finished he was silent for a long moment. "I don't like the way that sounds. Hold on a moment, let me check something."

Footsteps sounded followed by the creak of an opening door. A few moments later he was back, and now he sounded just as concerned as she felt.

"My parents are gone too. They even left the door open. They never do that. Where are you?"

"I'm going to find Sonoko."

"Give me the address. I'll meet you there."

X

How it had gotten to this, Sonoko had no idea. All she'd wanted was a relaxing and fun afternoon at the mall. She'd asked Ran to go with her, but the other girl had refused, saying she needed to finish her homework. Sonoko had homework too, but she'd promised herself she'd do it after dinner. Things had just been so weird lately! Was one normal day too much to ask for? Apparently so.

Now she was running through the streets with her best friend and that Yamada guy from a bunch of random strangers she was pretty sure she'd never seen before let alone done anything to. What was their problem?

"My—parents were—watching the news," Yamada panted as they ran. "It was still on screen—but no one was at the desk."

"My dad was watching the news too," Ran replied, thinking back.

"Do you know what channel?"

"No, I didn't—"

"They're catching up you two!" Sonoko interjected, frustration and nerves making her voice rise. "Talk later!"

They had almost reached the next corner when they heard the sound of an engine. Sonoko felt her heart skip a beat. Surely they weren't about to get _run down_? That would just be perfect. The worst ending to the worst day of her life.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the car in question pulled up in front of them instead of coming up from behind like she'd feared.

"Get in you three!" the man in the driver's seat ordered as the locks on the car door clicked. Ran only hesitated a moment before pulling open the door. The three piled into the backseat of the car and Yamada yanked it shut just as the first of their pursuers reached the curb. The engine roared and the car sped away down the street.

X

"I didn't know Tokyo was this quiet at night." Running a hand through his hair in agitation, Hattori paced up and down the alley he and his companions had taken refuge in.

"It usually isn't," Hakuba replied. He shifted his weight restlessly from one foot to the other. He looked rather anxious, Kazuha thought, although she was fairly sure he was trying not to show it.

She moved to stand beside him and laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure Aoko's all right too, Hakuba-kun."

He blinked at her in mild surprise. "I…"

"Kazuha's right," the Osakan detective added as he came to a stop in his pacing. He scratched the back of his head, feeling more than a little awkward all of a sudden. "I mean, Kudo's there, and KID's damned good at running away."

Hakuba snorted but his stance relaxed a little bit (although it may have been more from surprise than any lessening of concern. _Hattori Heiji_ was offering him reassurance?). "We need to figure out—"

"Did you hear that?"

Both detectives turned to Kazuha. She was frowning as she looked up and down the alley. Then she tilted her head back and looked up. That was when the sound of flapping wings reached the boys as well. A moment later a white shape came spiraling down out of the darkness. The bird flew straight to Hakuba's shoulder where it promptly pecked him.

He yelped and swatted automatically at the creature only to be buffeted by a wing.

/Now you listen here,/ it trilled impatiently. /It took long enough to find you lot. The least you could do is pay attention!/

"I—what?"

The bird fluffed out its feathers in what he would swear was annoyance. /The Master wants to see you. I will lead the way./

That said, the bird spread its wings and took off as abruptly as it had arrived.

"What was that about?" Hattori asked.

"It wants us to follow it. Apparently someone wants to see us."

"Is it some kind of trap?" Kazuha wondered.

"Actually," the blonde began slowly, "I think perhaps that was one of KID's birds."

"So we should follow it then," Hattori concluded. "Better hurry or it's gonna lose us."

X

"Where do you think they're all going?" the aspiring reporter wondered aloud. He, Ran, Sonoko, and the police officer who'd introduced himself to them as Kimura Genichirou sat in the car. They had parked the car in a side street where they had parked and turned off the engine to avoid attracting attention. Before them a thin stream of people were walking in a silent, expressionless parade. Some of them were pulling along confused and slightly frightened companions. This latter group were all coming out of public buildings and complexes like the mall Sonoko had just fled.

"I'm guessing he told everyone who was out in public to grab anyone who didn't see the broadcast," Kimura muttered, brows drawn so tightly together it looked like he had a uni-brow. "The reason you other two didn't get chased was because you were at home."

"But then there have to be other people like us," Ran reasoned.

Yamada nodded. "The question is, how are we going to find them?"

Sonoko rolled her eyes. "Why don't we just call and ask? I doubt those weirdos were told to answer their phones."

The other three traded looks and shrugs. Whether or not it worked, it was at least something to do. And right now just being able to do something sounded pretty attractive. A variety of cell phones were produced and they each turned to a different corner of the car to make their calls.

X

Waiting at the foot of the Ekoda clock tower with Kaitou KID and Nakamori Aoko was one experience Shinichi would rather not ever have to endure again. The tension in the air was so thick you could almost choke on it. He wondered idly if it was only he who was feeling it though. Aoko was sitting on a nearby bench, drumming her fingers lightly on her knees as she mulled over her own thoughts. Occasionally she'd shoot the thief a glare, but she was too preoccupied with her own worries to actually say anything. Kaito on the other hand was just leaning against the side of the tower itself, looking for all the world like someone who was just relaxing as he waited for an appointment. To Shinichi however there was a restlessness to his silence.

If only he could talk to him. But he couldn't, not with Aoko right there. What was taking the doves so long anyway? Had the others been caught? Were they waiting for people who weren't going to show up? That was the last thing they needed.

Think positive, he reminded himself.

"I'm going to get some water at the drinking fountain," Aoko announced abruptly. "I'll be right back."

"Just shout if you see anything strange," said Shinichi.

Aoko let out a short laugh but nodded and left.

Shinichi waited until she was out of sight before going to stand next to Kaito. "Um…are you okay?"

The magician chuckled. "Shouldn't I be asking you that, Tantei-kun? How's your ankle?"

"It's fine, and you're avoiding the question."

Kaito flashed him an odd little grin, reaching over to ruffle his hair. The detective scowled but the hand withdrew before he had a chance to bat it away. Indigo eyes turned away again to survey the dark stretches of the park around them. His grin took on a slightly sardonic twist.

"I wonder sometimes if she would hate me if she knew."

Blue eyes drifted automatically in the direction in which Aoko had gone.

"Hate is kind of a strong word."

The thief chuckled. "A strong word for a passionate soul."

"I don't know Nakamori-san very well, but I can tell she's a good friend. If you ever decide to explain the whole story to her, I think she'd understand."

"Perhaps. If she didn't take my head off first. But understanding doesn't equate forgiveness, and I won't be able to apologize for what I've done. Not and mean it anyway." And that would mean nothing. He might not have many qualms about lying, but when it came to things like this he knew when to draw the line. "I do not regret making the choices I've made."

Shinichi remained silent. He more than anyone knew the truth of the magician's words. There was nothing he could do or say that would change anything. He just hoped that if the time ever came for Kaito to test the question, that things would work out.

Thoughts still preoccupied, he nearly jumped out of his skin when his phone started vibrating. Fishing it out of his pocket, he glanced at the caller ID before answering.

"Ran?"

"Shinichi!" The familiar, female voice sounded relieved. "Are you all right?"

He blinked, confused. Did Ran know something about what had just happened? But she couldn't. He was sure Kaito wouldn't have told her, and everyone else involved had met up by happenstance. "Yeah. Why wouldn't I be? Did something happen?"

"Um, you mean other than the broadcast?"

"Broadcast?" he repeated. There was a long silence from the other end of the line before Ran apparently decided he was being serious about his befuddlement and started to explain.

X

"Do you guys have any ideas about where we could all meet up?" Ran asked, turning to her three companions.

"We could go back to the station," Kimura suggested. "It should be empty."

"I don't think that's a good idea," Yamada replied. "In their shoes, I'd think the stations would be great places to lie in wait for anyone who didn't see the broadcast. You know, like people coming to ask for help or report missing family members."

"I know where we can go," Sonoko spoke up suddenly, snapping her fingers. "Here, I'll text it to you guys."

**TBC**

* * *

><p><strong>A.N<strong>: Whew! The scattered-ness should end soon. Oh yeah, for anyone who might care, the next chapter for Travelers should be up some time within the next week or so, barring problems anyway. My internet is acting a little strange lately. See you next time!


	31. Gathering

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

* * *

><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

31: Gathering

It was a bowling alley.

Three pairs of eyes stared up at the sign on the building before swiveling as one to gawk at the petit girl who'd already slipped out of the car. Now she was striding straight up to the front doors as bold as anything.

"Wait! Sonoko!" Ran called after her friend, hurrying to both catch up to her and trying to look around at the same time. "It might not be safe!"

"Nonsense. This place was closed for maintenance two days ago but it isn't scheduled to be worked on until tomorrow so there wouldn't have been anyone inside."

"Are you sure?" Kimura asked skeptically. He and Yamada had both gotten out of the car and joined the girls, but the officer had his weight balanced on the balls of his feet, ready to leap into motion at any moment.

"Well, yeah. My dad owns this place," she replied matter-of-factly. Pausing beside the door, she popped open a panel revealing a number panel. Six digits later the doors slid open to admit them. "So are you guys coming or not? I can't relock it until we're all inside."

X

"So you're sayin' the _whole city_'s been hypnotized?!"

"Do you have to shout?" Shinichi muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to fend off the headache he could feel trying to creep up on him. "And no, it's not the whole city, just most of it. Like I've already told you, Ran and some of the others who didn't see the broadcast are waiting for us."

"We had better get going then," Aoko declared. "While they're still busy doing—whatever they're doing to all those poor people and decide it's time to come after us again."

That, at least, they could all agree on. Shinichi sent the address of their destination to Hakuba, Hattori, Kazuha, and Aoko's phones so that they would have a reference if they were to be split up again and couldn't remember the information. That done they plotted the fastest route and headed out of the park. All around them the city stood dark and eerie in its silent stillness. It felt practically as though the city itself had died. Everyone's nerves were on edge in that oppressive atmosphere and even the soft flurry of the wings of the doves Kaito had set to watching over them made them start and turn to stare blindly into the shadows.

It was Hattori who finally broke the silence. "So…uh, how did you end up in the indoor river?" he asked, glancing to Shinichi whose clothes were still slightly damp. Thankfully the night was warm.

"I met up with Satou-keiji and Takagi-keiji to hear about what they'd found out but it turned out they'd found more than they probably meant to. Hypnotist-san got to the whole station through them."

The Osakan whistled. "Talk about bad luck. So that's why the station was empty. I wondered about that."

"And you?"

"We just went in to ask them a few questions." Hattori outlined the events of earlier than evening then shrugged. "Turns out we were on the right track after all."

"For all the good it did," Kazuha muttered.

"What about you?" Hakuba inquired, turning his gaze to the thief walking by Shinichi. "What were _you_ doing at that television station?"

"They invited me," KID replied with an offhanded shrug. "They were trying to recruit me."

"And you went?" The blonde sounded skeptical. "That was rather foolish."

KID gave the British detective a condescending look. "It was a learning opportunity, and I never go anywhere unprepared. You lot on the other hand could really work on picking up on those danger signs."

The blonde bristled at the thief's tone. Off to the side, Hattori grimaced. Problem was, the damned thief had a point.

Shinichi stuffed his hands into his pockets. The tension in the air was thick to the point of suffocating. This, he reflected, was not the kind of atmosphere allies should create. Not only was it uncomfortable, it was also very likely to be counterproductive.

He fought the urge to sigh. Maybe he was just too used to Kaito's company, but he didn't see why they couldn't just put everything else aside for now and move on with the real problems at hand. Although he had to admit that the jibes most likely weren't making anyone feel more charitable.

This was going to be a very long night. Perfect really. A really long night to go with the really long day beforehand.

X

It was Yamada's turn on guard duty when Shinichi and company reached the bowling alley. He had declared that, since he could see perfectly in the dark, it only made sense that he take the blackest hours of the night. A relieved grin spread across his face when he spotted the ragtag group through the glass doors and he opened it before they could knock and hurried them inside so that the lock could be reactivated.

"Are any of you hungry? We found the food stocks for the café. If you want something to eat, the kitchen's just through that door over there. If you're tired, everyone's just finding somewhere quiet in the building to sleep. They have karaoke rooms upstairs where there are couches so a lot of people are napping up there. If there's no room left, the alley itself has chairs too, but they're plastic so they might not be all that comfortable."

"Are there a lot of people here then?" Kazuha asked curiously.

"Quite a few. It's amazing how many people you can reach when everyone just calls the people they know. Of course a lot of them didn't answer, but so far everyone who did has been able to get here. I think we have around thirty by now including you guys."

"Only thirty?" Hattori exclaimed. "That's practically nobody in a city this big!"

"Anyone is better than no one," Hakuba countered.

"Well, yeah, but surely the rest of the city couldn't all have been watching TV."

"There are monitors everywhere though," Aoko pointed out with a sigh.

Yamada nodded. "That and a lot of people who didn't actually see the broadcast got grabbed by people who did. Several other people tried to leave town but…" He trailed off as the group watched him expectantly.

"What happened to them?" Shinichi prodded when it became apparent that nothing more was going to be forthcoming.

Yamada heaved a sigh. "Let's say, now we at least know where the police are. They've set up barricades on all the streets out of Tokyo. Anyone who tries to leave is being arrested and taken away, probably to wherever it is the rest of the city walked themselves off to."

"So no one knows where the rest of the people have gone?"

"No. Erika said she tried to follow her family but she lost them in the dar—" He was cut off as the door to the kitchen opened and Sonoko popped her head out.

"Yamada-kun! Ran says the soup's ready. She wants to know if you want any."

"Oh, uh, okay. Will there be enough for everyone?"

"Everyone?" the girl repeated before glancing at the other occupants of the entrance hall, apparently only just noticing that the aspiring reporter wasn't alone. "KID-sama!" she squealed in excitement the moment her eyes landed on the familiar white tuxedo and top hat. "I'm so glad you made it!"

"And what about the rest of us?" Hattori muttered under his breath to Kazuha's stifled giggle.

"Are you hungry?" Sonoko bubbled on, oblivious to everyone but the thief. "My friend Ran made soup. We also have an assortment of sandwiches. There's also a whole bunch of drinks."

"A sandwich would be much appreciated," KID interjected when Sonoko paused for breath. She beamed and gestured for them to follow her.

X

The bowling alley's kitchen was quiet. By now most everyone had drifted off, dispersing throughout the sizable building in search of places to shut their eyes and finally catch some sleep after the hectic events of the day. Hakuba, however, had decided to brew himself a cup of tea before retiring. As he waited for the water to boil, he spotted a bird perched on the windowsill. It had to be one of KID's.

The blonde looked around quickly to make sure no one was watching him. The room was deserted. Then he stepped cautiously up to the sill, careful not to make any sudden motions that might frighten its occupant, and leaned down.

"Excuse me," he said quietly, trying not to think about how foolish he must look.

The dove stopped preening its feathers and cocked its head to look at him with inquisitive, beady eyes.

"I was just wondering if you could tell me where you live."

The dove stared at him for a long moment with a vaguely contemplative expression in its beady eyes that he had never seen on a bird before. Then it cocked its head to one side and chirped, /Why?/

That gave the blonde a moment's pause. "I was simply curious. I've heard several birds hare lest homes recently."

/I see. Well, thank you for your concern, Human, but it is quite unnecessary./ That said, the dove returned to preening.

That…wasn't exactly what he'd hoped for. "That's good. By the way, have you ever been to Ekoda High?" he tried again. Realizing belatedly that a bird might not know the school by name, he went on to describe the campus and its surroundings. This got him another long look. This time, however, he had the distinct impression that the bird was annoyed.

/Why would I ever wish to visit a place packed full of unruly human chicks?/ it sniffed.

It was Hakuba's turn to stare. Chicks? He supposed that meant kids. Still watching the dove, he found himself wondering if it was lying to him. Did birds know how to lie? Even if they could, a simple bird surely wouldn't see any reason to do so when talking to a human. Or would it? It was, after all, one of KID's doves. Or did KID have a separate flock for his civilian and thief personas? Surely that was a bit too extreme even for him. Right?

/Don't you know it's rude to stare?/ The dove's annoyed inquiry cut into his thoughts. Which was just as well, since those thoughts had been going in circles anyway.

"Um, no, I'm sorry. I did not mean to," he apologized, then grimaced. He was being told off about his manners by a bird. By a criminal's pet bird no less. Maybe he should skip the tea and just find somewhere to sleep after all.

X

"Are you working?" Kaito's incredulous voice pulled Shinichi out of his thoughts and he looked up from the map he'd been pouring over to see that the magician had taken off his hat and monocle. Blue eyes flicked reflexively to the door to check that the lock had been turned. Satisfied that it was, he turned back to the map. They were in a small room, furnished with warm colors and furniture to look rather cozy. Shinichi suspected that it was probably for couples.

"I'm trying to figure out where everybody's gone," he explained, drawing a few arrows on the paper to mark out the direction in which people had been seen walking by Ran and her group before tapping his chin with the end of his pen. "There aren't that many places in the city that could hold so many people so they shouldn't be that hard to find. Problem is, would they all be being kept in the same place? It would make more sense for them to be kept in a number of facilities depending on the areas of the city they were taken from. If only we knew what Hypnotist-san plans on doing with them. If he needed particular types of equipment or other resources then we could narrow down the possibilities considerably…"

"Have you maybe thought that you can continue this in the morning?" Kaito prodded, sitting down on the couch beside Shinichi and giving the map a disinterested look. The detective didn't seem to hear him.

"He talked a lot about finding out what was possible," Shinichi muttered. "He compared this to a video game…how far…possible…" He blinked then covered a yawn. What had he been thinking again? Oh yeah, what the man had said…

"I don't suppose you could get me a cup of coffee?" he asked, turning hopeful blue eyes on Kaito.

The thief frowned. "No. You need sleep—hell, even I'm tired. We should rest while we have the chance so we aren't useless when we have to move."

"But we don't know how much time we have."

"Even more reason to sleep now and recharge. Besides, even if you figured out where the people are being held, you won't be able to do anything if you can't keep your eyes open."

"That's what the coffee is for," Shinichi grumbled, but he didn't protest when Kaito plucked the map out of his hands and made it disappear. He really was tired. He hadn't really even noticed how much until now. Although he supposed the fact that he could hear his own thoughts derailing every few seconds was probably a giveaway.

Kaito took the opportunity while Shinichi fought another yawn to wrap an arm around his detective and shift their position so that they were both lying down on the couch. Then he snapped his fingers and the lights went out.

The feeling of the magician's chest pressed flush against his back brought Shinichi's thoughts reeling back to the present with a sudden, sharp clarity they hadn't had all night. He could feel his face heating up as he stared straight ahead into the darkness, feeling oddly as though he was afraid to move. He was sure he was never going to fall asleep now.

It _was_ comfortable though.

Slowly, he felt his eyes sliding shut without any conscious direction from him. The tension he hadn't even realized he'd been harboring melted away into a warm, contented haze.

Invisible in the darkness, Kaito grinned smugly before pulling the sleeping detective closer and closing his own eyes. He did wonder if he should have mentioned a certain piece of paper still residing in his pocket, but he dismissed the thought. Whatever it was could wait for tomorrow.

X

Ran let out a quiet sigh as she moved about the bowling alley café's kitchen. She was rapidly growing very familiar with every nook and cranny in the place. She didn't really mind though. It made her feel like she was actually doing something useful.

Everyone was feeling a bit like that really. No one wanted to be idle, but none of them knew exactly what they should be doing. So they did what they could and just hoped it was the right thing for now. Yamada was drawing up a list of everyone they had been able to contact and everyone who had made it to the alley. Sonoko had led several others and searching through the building for an yand all supplies that they might be able to use. Others were checking the views from each window and Kimura-san had set up a rotating watch. The day had been tiring for everyone though and most people had gone to sleep long before Shinichi and his companions had arrived. Even now at almost noon of the following day most of the building's occupants remained deep in slumber.

Ran herself had only gotten up a little over an hour ago. She was currently preparing some hot soup for Mia, who had come in sometime around dawn. She'd arrived exhausted and exhibiting symptoms of a cold.

Pouring the soup into a bowl, she placed it on a tray with a spoon and headed for the stairs. The entire building was eerily silent. She'd been here once with Sonoko before the place had been closed for renovation. Back then the entire place had been abuzz with activity. The constant clunking of bowling balls touching down on the lanes and the murmur of voices had filled the air with a sense of life. Reaching the spacious reception area where people were supposed to go to book rooms, she turned down the left hand corridor and started counting doors. She stopped outside the fifth on the left and knocked lightly.

"Mia?" she called through the wood. "I brought you some soup. It should help you feel better."

There was no verbal response, but she thought she heard several thumps. Brows furrowing in confusion, she set the tray on the floor to one side of the door then tried the knob. The door was unlocked. Bracing herself, she pushed it open, ready for anything.

Or almost anything.

There stood a tall woman with a mane of rather frizzy hair.

And there lay the same woman on the longest couch in the private karaoke room.

Ran's eyes widened in stunned amazement and confusion.

"Mi—Mia?"

The standing Mia turned at the sound of her voice. Faster than Ran's shocked mind could react, the woman raised her hand. Blue sparks crackled in the air as the teen's senses filled with the smell of ozone.

The next thing she was aware of was the sensation of floorboards sliding past beneath her back. Then there was the sound of departing footsteps and the click of the door being shut. Her mind told her that she should call out—that she had to get up and tell someone that there was something wrong—but she couldn't seem to move.

**TBC**

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><p><strong>A.N<strong>: My sister seems to find the doves vastly hilarious every time they show up. I find them pretty funny myself, but apparently not quite as much as she does. Although it is funny how funny she finds them, hehe. Anyhow, thanks for reading and see you next time! ^_^


	32. Faces to Faces

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

* * *

><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

32: Faces to Faces

The sound of several loud crashes, screams, and yells jerked Shinichi rudely out of what had otherwise been a restful sleep. He bolted upright—or tried anyway. He didn't get very far because of the person sleeping half on top of him. At another time he might have been embarrassed, but his internal alarms were telling him that there wasn't any time for embarrassment right now. Considering the soundproofed walls, the noise was muffled, but it was clear enough to be worrying.

"Kaito, wake up!" he hissed, head swiveling towards the door as he strained his ears in an attempt to figure out what was going on.

It was a little shocking how quickly Kaito went from fast asleep to standing, indigo eyes sharp and focused on the still closed door. Shinichi wondered for a moment if he'd really been asleep at all but decided it wasn't important.

Shinichi flinched as another crash resounded from outside. It sounded farther away than the previous ones.

Blue eyes met indigo, then the two moved towards the door in silent agreement. They had only just unlocked it however when the noise from beyond went abruptly silent as though a switch had been turned off.

Kaito poked his head out first and looked up and down the corridor. The hall beyond looked normal enough at first glance. Their room was near the end of the hall and somewhat set apart from the others. From here they could see that most of the doors that had been shut the night before were now ajar. Shinichi's gaze zeroed in immediately on the rather peculiar sight of a tray with a bowl of soup on it sitting beside one of the closed doors. He made a beeline for it only to find that it was locked. A moment later a white gloved hand was on his arm, gently pushing him aside so that KID could reach the door. It took almost no time at all for the thief to have the door swinging open. Shinichi stared for a moment in shock at what the opening door revealed.

"Ran, Mia-san!" Running inside, he checked both their pulses. Finding them, he sat back with relief. They were alive.

"Shin…ichi…"

Starting at the halting whisper, he looked around before realizing it had come from near his knee. "Ran?"

The brunette's eyes were open but she seemed disoriented. Carefully, he slid an arm under her shoulders and helped her sit up to lean against the couch. Kaito too took a step closer, though he kept a wary eye on the hallway beyond the open door.

"It—it was Mia," she gasped. Two pairs of eyes immediately turned to the woman on the couch, but Ran wasn't done yet. "There…there were two of her."

Shinichi blinked, wondering if he'd heard that right. "What?"

"Two Mias," Ran repeated, closing her eyes as she made a visible effort to recollect herself. "I was bringing her some soup, but there were two of her. It was the other one… She left."

"You should rest," Shinichi instructed. "We'll take care of it." Whatever it was.

X

Heiji was not having a good day. First of all, he'd had to spend the night rooming with Hakuba—something which he had never thought he'd have to do again after leaving that camp. Originally he'd assumed he'd room with Kudo, but no, Kudo had vanished shortly after they'd arrived at the bowling alley like he'd been doing so often lately. There weren't enough in the way of rooms for the Osakan not to feel guilty about claiming one all to himself, especially since all the open rooms had at least two couches in them. The only good thing about the whole situation was that they had both been too tired to talk.

This morning however he'd been woken at a ridiculous seven in the morning—who the hell willingly got up at seven in the morning after going to bed at _two_?—by the blonde asking him what he wanted for breakfast. While a tiny part of Heiji might have appreciated the thought, it was not a very audible part as it was drowned out by the rest of him which was still tired from running around the city all last night.

His irate exclamation of, "Are you _insane_?!" had not gone over well with Hakuba, who had thought he was being polite. So the morning had devolved into an argument over manners and common sense. It was probably a good thing that the walls were fairly well insulated. Finally, once they were both fed up with the whole situation, they managed to reach a truce which consisted of 'not talking about it anymore' and headed for the kitchen downstairs.

And that was how they had ended up here.

Seeing Mia drop one of their fellow refugees with what looked like an electric shock was not what either of them had expected upon stepping out. He knew there were (not very funny) joke gadgets that let people shock others with a handshake, but that did not look like a joke.

She froze when she saw them. Past her they could see other partially open doors. The occasional foot stuck out of them.

"What do you think you're _doing_?" Heiji had blurted out.

Mia's expression shifted from 'caught' to that of one who had just made a decision.

An instant later the two detectives found themselves the target of a bolt of lightning being hurled at their heads. The two detectives threw themselves out of the way, narrowly avoiding getting mouthfuls of lightning.

"Wait! What the hell?" Heiji yelped as bits of wall sprayed over him and the smell of singed wood and paint filled his nose. "Why are you attacking us?!"

In answer, another bolt charred the floor inches from his shoulder. Some corner of his mind noted that it was a bit odd that Mia had missed since he recalled her aim had gotten pretty good by the end of her stay at camp, but it didn't seem like a very important detail when the assaults were still coming. Rolling to his feet, he lunged towards Mia, hoping to catch her off guard and maybe knock her out. She saw him coming though and sidestepped. Spinning, she landed a kick to his stomach.

He doubled over, all the breath leaving his lungs in a pained rush. He'd had no idea she could fight like that. Through watering eyes, he caught the spark of electricity and braced himself.

Someone ran into him from the side, knocking him flat to the floor. The lightning blazed over their heads and smashed another door. Scrambling hurriedly to his hands and knees, Heiji turned his head to see Hakuba just picking himself up. Oh, great, now he owed the blonde one. Well, it couldn't be helped.

Hakuba took a step towards the source of their problems, brown eyes narrowing, but they widened again in shock when Mia's features suddenly blurred. In fact, her whole body was blurring. Her features flowed together in a sickeningly liquid way and reformed. Suddenly it wasn't Mia standing before them at all but a girl neither of them recognized. She was almost just as tall as Mia but her hair was cropped short and her eyes were hard and dark. The British detective froze for a moment in shock and it cost him as the stranger's fist connected with the side of his face.

Heiji took the opportunity while she was focused on his fellow detective to circle around and approach her from behind. He caught her wrists just as she was about to throw a hook.

For an instant her eyes met his then she smiled. The expression sent chills down his spine.

Then her face shifted again and he was looking at himself.

His face smirked at him and drove a knee into his gut at almost exactly the same spot he'd been kicked earlier.

X

Aoko hadn't slept well the night before at all. She was worried about her dad. Since he hadn't tried to contact her, she could only assume he was among the police who'd been caught.

She didn't know where Kaito was either. His phone didn't even ring when she tried to call him so either it was off, out of range, or out of power. And yet she couldn't imagine Kaito of all people being out there in the ranks of hypnotized citizens. It was just—unimaginable. Still, that didn't mean it was impossible…

She'd tried to call Keiko too, but she hadn't answered. In fact, none of the people she'd tried to contact had.

It was a frightening thought to think that everyone she knew—everyone important to her—who she could confidently say were okay were in this building. And there weren't all that many of them. Everyone else was a mystery teetering on the edge of some indefinable disaster at the mercy of what could only be a madman because sane people didn't do things like this.

The real problem was that they didn't _know_ anything. Or at least she felt like she didn't know anything.

She had to think positive, she reminded herself. They had lucked out in a way, she mused. Not only was Saguru here, Kudo-kun and Hattori-kun were here too. They were also lucky that Suzuki-san had been able to find them somewhere to stay just like that. They had a lot of stubborn people with them—hell, she was one of them!—and they weren't going to lie down and let some random person turn their lives upside down without a fight.

It kind of made her wish she knew some kind of martial arts though. As things stood now all she could do if their enemies came after them again was break windows. While it had been useful for escaping the television station, it didn't seem like it would be much help otherwise. Maybe she could ask Ran to teach her a few moves.

Mind made up, Aoko stood and quietly made her way out of the room so as not to wake the girl sleeping on the other couch. She had only just made it to the bottom of the stairs when she heard a strange, crackling sound coming from behind her. She wouldn't have thought much of it—it sounded a bit like a faulty light flickering as it neared its demise, albeit a bit louder than usual—but then there was a crash. She jumped and spun around to stare up the stairs. From her position she couldn't really see anything. She frowned and started back up but halfway to the landing Hattori-kun appeared and started coming down.

"Do you know what that noise was?" she asked, pausing in her tracks. Somewhere in the back of her mind she noted with surprise that the other's shirt was blue. She could have sworn it was green last night, but maybe she'd been mistaken in the dark. After all, he'd also been wearing a jacket then and she hadn't gotten all that good a look at the color.

The Osakan detective paused then shrugged. "Oh that. Don't worry about it. I, uh, kinda sorta broke one of the doors. It was stuck and I—well, I'll fix it. Promise."

"Oh, well, do you need any help?"

"Do you know where Suzuki-san is? I need to go ask her where I might be able to find some tools."

"I haven't seen her yet. But there is a janitor's closet in the alley. I think I remember seeing a toolbox on there when I was looking for cleaning supplies. I'll show you where it is."

"Thanks."

Aoko led the way through the lobby (she spotted Kimura-san's back through the front doors where he was keeping watch outside) and past the double doors that opened onto the main room of the bowling alley. Before them lanes spread in pale, polished strips from one side of the long chamber to the other. At the end of each lane a dark mouth opened to show a set of pins behind a grate that would be lifted when the lanes were active. Before each lane stood an island of orange, plastic chairs gathered around the ball dispenser and computer. Aoko turned right away from the empty tables that marked out the alley's café and headed for the bathrooms. The janitor's closet had been tucked into the corner with the bathrooms.

They arrived however to find that the door was already open and there were people inside sorting through the equipment.

"Hey, could one of you get me like six pieces of paper towel?" Sonoko asked when she glanced out of the open closet door and spotted them coming. "We kinda spilled some stuff we need to wipe up."

"I'll go," Aoko volunteered, changing direction to head for the girls' bathroom. "Could one of you help Hattori-kun find the toolbox?"

"Toolbox huh?" Sonoko turned to eye the Osakan by the door. "You break something or what?"

"Just need to fix something," he hedged, leaning against the side of the door and idly fidgeting with the knob. "So is there a toolbox in there or not?"

The petit girl gave him a distinctly unimpressed look then turned to her companions. "Either of you see a toolbox?"

"I think I saw one," one of them mused, standing and heading deeper into the rather spacious storage space. "Can't quite remember where though…"

"Try the back corner behind the mops," the other suggested. "There was a box back there. Although I don't remember what's in it."

"I'll check. Let's—" All three of them jumped as a sudden, loud bang cracked the air and all light vanished. "Hey! Who closed the door?!"

On the other side of the door, the culprit double checked the lock. Satisfied that it was secure, he smirked. That had been too easy.

A gasp from behind however drew his attention to Aoko. Oops, almost forgot about her.

"Hattori-kun?" she asked, confused. She was echoed by a new voice by the door.

X

"Damnit, we gotta tell somebody."

"I know," Hakuba grunted, grimacing. "I think we may be able to get ourselves out of here if we combine our efforts."

"I'm not sure how much leverage I can get." After all, it wasn't easy to get a purchase on anything when you were flat on your stomach underneath an overturned couch. The fact that he was trapped there with Hakuba, for once, wasn't registering on his mind as something to be annoyed at. It was certainly better than being alone. "How about you?"

"It could be better."

"I refuse to lie here and wait 'til someone thinks to open that door."

"Agreed."

"On the count of three then."

X

They had found scorch marks on the walls and floor near the mouth of the hall where it joined up with the reception room. One door had been blown clean off its hinges. A few other doors were still closed, but many of them were not and they had found several more unconscious people scattered through them. It was like some kind of ten second plague had swept through the building, leaving everyone temporarily 'bedridden'.

Rather than checking the adjoining hall, they opted for heading downstairs as someone had trekked paint flakes and splinters over to the top of the steps. At the bottom Shinichi turned to see who was currently on sentry duty and ask if they had seen anything. Spotting Kimura-san outside, he frowned. It didn't seem wise for the man to be out there. A second look however revealed that the man had situated himself behind one of the large, decorative bowling pins decorating the front of the building. He hadn't noticed those in the darkness the night before, but they did create a good space for keeping watch without being seen. The down side was that Kimura-san appeared totally unaware of anything going on in the building behind him.

The only sounds either of them could hear were coming from the main room. It sounded like the faint murmur of voices. Striding towards it, Shinichi pushed open the double doors and stepped in. Beside him, Kaito shifted closer to the wall and into the shadows, somehow managing to fade into the background despite his bright, white uniform. They arrived just in time to see a certain dark-skinned detective slamming a door on what sounded like Sonoko.

"Hattori!" Shinichi exclaimed, shocked.

"That ain't me!" the Osakan detective cried out—from behind him. The Detective of the East turned quickly to see a second Hattori come crashing into the alley. Right behind him came Hakuba. The blonde had a bruise darkening on his left cheek. They both looked a little worse for wear. "It's some kinda shape shifter!"

The imposter cursed and bolted.

"We can't let him get away!" Shinichi exclaimed. "He could tell them where we are!"

KID moved even before Shinichi had finished talking and the not-Hattori staggered back as he ran into an invisible wall. Before anyone could be relieved however the air all around them burst into flame.

Aoko leapt back, dropping the bundle of paper towels she'd originally brought for Sonoko. Her back collided against the wall by the janitor's closet where she could still hear people pounding to get out. Before her the paper towels vanished, devoured in seconds by the fire. Shinichi ducked and threw an arm up before his face, eyes already searching for the fire extinguisher he knew he'd seen the night before when he and Kaito had given themselves a tour. Behind him Hakuba had turned for the door with half a mind to go get help but he met two problems. The first was the invisible wall that had originally been meant to help prevent the imposter's escape. Second was the fact that the doors themselves were on fire.

KID dropped his force fields—the last thing they needed was to be trapped with the flames and nowhere to run to—and darted forward. Catching the not-Hattori's hand as the imposter struck out at him, he pulled the hand forward, using the momentum of the assault to put the imposter off balance. Following his own steps forward, he turned and twisted the not-Hattori's arm up behind his back, simultaneously grabbing the other arm as it reached for the imposter's pocket. He didn't particularly want to find out what kinds of weapons the intruder had brought for backup.

"Put them out," he ordered, tightening his hold on the imposter.

To his surprise, his captive only laughed, making no move to try and escape. Around them the air crackled and grew hotter. "That doesn't appear to be one of this face's abilities."

KID's gaze turned to Hattori where he had dragged Hakuba to the floor to avoid another bout of flames. The grimace on the Osakan's face was enough to tell him that the statement was true. Smoke was beginning to fill the air.

Shinichi would have let out a breath of relief if he hadn't been holding his breath against the smoke as he reached the fire extinguisher and quickly pulled it out of its box.

The imposter chose that moment to throw himself backwards into his captor. Quick reflexes prevented KID from falling but he was forced to let go as the shifter wrenched himself around. He lashed out at the thief's face, fingers crooked as though to imitate claws. KID caught his wrists but the tips of one of the imposter's fingers just managed to brush across the tip of his nose.

White teeth flashed in a triumphant smile and indigo eyes widened as the face before him began to change.

Shinichi had just let the fire extinguisher loose on the flames creeping over the floor when he had looked around to check on his companions. He felt his heart stop when the shifter's features blurred. He knew what was probably coming, but there wasn't anything he could do about it. It was all happening too fast. And then there stood a perfect copy of Kuroba Kaito with nothing to hide his face from the shocked eyes of the rest of the room's occupants.

**TBC**

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><p><strong>A.N<strong>: And that's 32! Hope you enjoyed and see you next time ^_^


	33. With Open Eyes

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

* * *

><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

33: With Open Eyes

The first thought that crossed Kaito's mind ran something along the lines of 'Oh great, there goes all my hard work'. Damage control, however, would have to come later. If this imposter thought copying his face was going to help him get away, he was sorely mistaken. There was no way Kaito was letting him get away now.

Seeing that Shinichi had snapped out of his horrified trance and begun demolishing the remaining flames, the thief turned his full attention on the imposter.

If it had been visible, it would probably have looked rather like the opposite of peeling an onion. Layers upon layers of transparent walls snapped up in every direction, their shapes twisting and turning around the room's many occupants as they vied for possession of the most strategic spaces.

Kaito was mildly surprised to discover that in addition to knowing where his own force fields were he could also sense where the imposter's were. He couldn't change them or take them down, but they were still clear to that sixth sense he'd developed after the museum incident. The imposter, however, didn't seem to have quite gotten in touch with that sixth sense yet. Neither did he have Kaito's experience in bending the force fields to his will. The thief sneered inwardly. The nerve! Trying to copy _him_ of all people. This was going to be the last time this shape shifter made that mistake.

He had to hand it to the imposter though, he—if it really was a he—had shown himself to be very quick at picking up on the workings of the powers of the people whose forms he'd copied. Even so, it seemed he had forgotten to consider a few important facts. After all, without the skill and knowledge to give to alter the properties of the force fields and what they allowed, the most the imposter could do was wall himself in.

Kaito could practically see the moment when the realization finally dawned.

"Feeling trapped, are we?" he asked mockingly, watching as the imposter's eyes widened and began darting frantically from side to side. All around the room the imposter's force fields stuttered and faded as his panic rose.

Shaking his head, Kaito snapped his fingers—albeit more for effect than any kind of necessity—and encased the imposter in an opaque, white cube. He made sure to adjust it so that the shifter wouldn't suffocate before turning to survey the rest of the room.

Shinichi and the fire extinguisher had put out most of the flames, leaving scorched patches on the floor and walls. The doors had turned black and looked like a good kick would probably dislodge them from their frames. Hakuba and Hattori were smothering what remained of the flames with their jackets. Aoko had climbed over the café counter and into the kitchen and come back with a bucket of water which she sloshed over the most persistent flames.

"Why hasn't anyone come to see what's happening?" the girl wondered aloud. "We could use the help."

"Unfortunately, the imposter got to a lot of the people upstairs while being Mia," Shinichi replied. "The real Mia was hit on the head and left in her room. She got Ran—and most everyone else, I assume—with electric shocks. Luckily, not enough to kill, but they're going to be out of commission for the time being."

"So the shifter attacked Mia first, knocked her out, and impersonated her," Hakuba summarized, straightening and slipping his jacket back on. "Then she ran into us and changed into Hattori, remaining as such until just a few minutes earlier. It is also clear that what is copied is not only a person's appearance but also their abilities. Also, in each case the change was made to match someone in the immediate vicinity. If I had to guess, I would say physical contact is needed to make the change."

"Yeah, but between being Mia and turning into me we saw it turn into that other girl. The one we didn't recognize."

"Then perhaps that is her real face. It's possible that each shape can only be copied for so long. Therefore if we wait a while we will be able to see who our intruder really is."

"Makes sense," the Osakan conceded before his eyes widened and he raised a hand to point at KID. "Wait, so you're Kuroba?!"

Aoko made a noise that sounded rather strained but Shinichi, being the closest, was the only one who heard. Hakuba on the other hand, he noted, had a distinctly triumphant look on his face. The thief's own expression was completely blank, giving nothing away.

"This is one piece of evidence even you can't argue with," the blonde remarked smugly.

"I suppose you have to take what you can get when your own efforts are insufficient," the thief replied.

Shinichi winced inwardly. On an impulse, he moved quietly to stand closer to the magician. Part of him felt like he should say something, but he really didn't know what.

The motion , however, caught Hattori's attention and he rounded on him. "Did you know?!" He paused, studying his friend's face. "You did, didn't you?" It wasn't really a question.

Shinichi cast another look at Kaito before he nodded slowly.

Hakuba snorted at that. "Some detective."

"I dare you to say that again," the magician growled, a dangerous gleam in dark indigo eyes.

Shinichi grabbed his arm on instinct. "It's all right." He didn't really care what the others thought. He had made his decisions because _he_ believed they were the right ones. He didn't need their approval (there was a time when he might have cared a lot more, but he'd learned over the past few years that it was much more important to do what was right than to be recognized for it). What he _was_ worried about was Kaito's abnormally volatile temper. It was clear the magician was _not happy_ with the situation. Not that he could be blamed for that. Not only had he just had his identity revealed in front of several people who should never have known, but one of those people was his childhood friend whose reaction to the news was as yet unclear. She had yet to say a word and she wasn't looking at any of them.

An awkward silence fell over the gathering.

They all jumped as Hattori suddenly cracked up laughing. The laughter died almost as quickly as it had come as everyone else in the room turned to stare at him.

"Er, sorry," he apologized, scratching at the back of his head. "I just thought it was kinda funny is all. I mean, of all the times for this to come up, it's now. Seriously, think about it. We're avoiding the police, most of the city's been kidnapped, and there's some lunatic out there who can control people trying to make the world his own private video game. Compared to that, it doesn't really matter who Kaitou KID is."

The thief in question tilted his head slightly, a faint hint of amusement creeping onto his otherwise unreadable visage. "Under other circumstances, I would be insulted. However in this case I suppose I must concur."

Shinichi nodded. "We're all going to have to work together if we want to save the others and stop Imazaki-san." Turning, he fixed his gaze on the blond detective. "You do understand that, don't you, Hakuba-san?"

The other detective frowned, shifting uncomfortably where he stood. Finally, however, he inclined his head. "This is more important."

It sounded to Kaito as though the blonde had had to force the words out, but it seemed he had his priorities straight for once (and no, he didn't think he was being unfair). Of course, what went unspoken was that by then the aforementioned evidence would most likely be gone, but the memories of those who had witnessed the event would not.

The first person to move was Aoko. She glanced at the thief before turning and walking towards the alley café at the other end of the chamber.

"I'll keep the container up until we figure out what we're going to do with the copycat," Kaito said to Shinichi before he vanished in a puff of smoke.

Left alone with his fellow detectives, Shinichi found himself the new, uncomfortable center of their attention. Wishing Kaito had taken him with him except that he knew the thief was probably going to confront Aoko about what she'd seen, he cracked a strained smile and tried not to look nervous. Hattori opened his mouth a few times but he kept closing it again and shooting looks at Hakuba. The blonde on the other hand was staring at him as though trying to bore holes into Shinichi's head and pick out what he wanted to know.

Hakuba had finally opened his own mouth when a muffled shriek broke through the tension and into their ears. It was followed by equally muffled pounding.

"Oh, wait, we forgot," Shinichi gasped in realization. "Sonoko and the others are still in the closet!"

Both Hakuba and Hattori blinked. "What?"

Grateful for the excuse, Shinichi spun on his heels and hurried towards the noise.

X

He'd found Aoko sitting by the small table that had been moved into the kitchen from the seating area the night before. She didn't look up at his approach though he made no effort to mask his presence. Coming to a stop beside her, he waited.

It had been five minutes and Aoko still hadn't made a move or said a single word and Kaito was starting to get antsy. Truth be told he'd kind of expected her to come at him with a mop from the janitor's closet or something and berate him for being KID. It was what generally happened when she got mad at him. Unless she was really that upset with him, he thought.

"Aoko?" he asked finally, unable to wait any longer.

"So it's true…" she murmured. Then she started to laugh. It was a quiet laugh at first, but soon it grew into a full out laughing fit. She laughed so hard that she doubled over, clutching at her stomach, and Kaito could have sworn he saw tears leaking from the corners of her eyes.

"Um, Aoko?" he asked a touch hesitantly, not sure if this was a good sign or a bad one.

It took several minutes for Aoko's laughter to die down. As it did she straightened, wiping the back of her hands across her eyes. "I guess that makes sense," she muttered, and he couldn't tell if she was talking to him or to herself.

Finally, the girl looked up from her clasped hands. She still kept her gaze away from him though. Instead she focused on a point somewhere ahead of her and to the left on the plain, unadorned wall of the kitchen.

"Will you…at least tell me why?" she asked in a whisper. "I…I won't tell anyone…"

"Not even your boyfriend?" Kaito kept his voice completely neutral even if he couldn't resist the urge to raise an eyebrow. It wasn't like she could see it anyway.

Aoko hesitated a moment then nodded slowly. "I just… I want to understand, Kaito. I feel like I don't know you anymore." She paused then laughed halfheartedly. "I guess now I know why. But…" But she knew he must have reasons, because she couldn't believe that he didn't. Not when she knew he knew the way KID heists affected her family life. The Kaito she knew wouldn't do that to her just for his own enjoyment, and she couldn't believe that he had changed that much.

Kaito studied her for a moment, noting the way her hands had clenched into fists on her knees and the way she held her shoulders straight and tense. Then he let out a quiet breath and moved to sit down in one of the empty chairs beside her. If she wasn't already stiff, Aoko might have stiffened, but as it was all she did was clench her fists a little bit tighter.

"Do you remember my father?"

A little confused at the sudden question, Aoko nodded. "Of course I remember."

"Do you remember when he died?"

"I…yes." How could she forget?

"Then let me tell you a story. This story started about two decades ago…"

X

Hattori heaved a sigh as he swept the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand and straightened to survey the handiwork of the last few hours. "That was one hell of a way to start the day."

All around him the mess that the morning's escapade had left throughout the building had been swept up and disposed of. There were no longer any doors between the room of lanes and the entrance hall since they had had to be removed but it actually gave the place a nice, open feeling. Upstairs most of the doors that had been dislodged had been put back in their frames. Not much could be done about the scorch marks, but all the soot and ash had been polished away.

They had gotten everyone who'd been shocked onto couches and Sonoko and her two helpers were tending to them. A few were already up and helping with the clean up but most of them would be bedridden (or would that be couch-ridden?) for a while yet. Aoko was making everyone something to eat and Shinichi had volunteered to help her. They had poked their heads out to inform Kimura-san of the goings on but it was generally agreed that he should stay where he was. The last thing they needed was any more uninvited guests.

A careful review of everyone in the building revealed that Erika was missing, indicating that she had been the shifter's first disguise. KID had gone into his containment cube with the copycat and reemerged with the information that the girl—turned out it was a girl after all—had been one of several people sent out to find them. She had decided however to take it upon herself to subdue them as well, probably in the hopes of impressing her comrades. How KID had gotten the information out of her, no one asked. Although from the sound of it she was rather proud of her work and how far she'd gotten, so maybe it wouldn't have been all that hard to get her to talk. She wouldn't, however, tell them her name or where the kidnapped citizens were being kept.

"It certainly wasn't how I wanted to wake up," Kazuha sighed.

The dark-skinned detective shot her an incredulous look. "But you slept through all the action!"

"I was tired," she said a bit defensively. "And it's not my fault the room I was in was at the end of the other hall. I couldn't hear anything from over there."

"Right, right."

"Hey Heiji…"

Confused by the sudden softness in her tone, he turned to look at her. "What?"

"Did something else happen? You've been spacing out a lot all morning."

_ "Why didn't you tell me, Kudo?"_

_ "Tell you what?"_

_ "Don't pretend you don't know what I'm talking about."_

_ "What do you think I should have said?"_

_ "I—I don't know—_something_."_

_ "Would you have just told someone who I was when I was Conan? Barring your horrible memory, I mean."_

_ "Well, no, but that's entirely different."_

_ "Maybe not as different as you think."_

_ Pause. "What's that supposed to mean?"_

_ "Just drop it Hattori. When this is all over, then we'll talk."_

"Heiji?"

Mind snapping back to the present, Hattori laughed nervously. "It's nothing." Nothing except that he'd found out one of his fellow detectives—one he'd come to admire—had apparently been in the confidentiality of an internationally wanted criminal for some time now. The weirdest part was he thought they might be dating (Shinichi had refused to talk about that kiss he'd seen, but he didn't really have to). "I'm just kind of hungry. Let's go get something to eat."

X

The sound of movement drew Kaito's gaze from the sky to the roof access. He wasn't at all surprised to see Shinichi coming out of it. The detective cast a quick look around at the surrounding buildings before moving to sit down beside him. There were actually a few tables and chairs on one side of the roof since there had been plans on converting the area into a sort of open air dining venue but the magician had opted for sitting on the ground.

"I assume no one can see us?"

"That would be correct." He wouldn't have swapped his uniform for casual clothes otherwise.

"Um, I brought sandwiches." Said sandwiches were wrapped in foil. He handed one to Kaito who smiled.

"Thank you."

The air filled with the sound of crinkling foil. The smell of roast beef accompanied it. They ate in silence for a while before Shinichi cleared his throat.

"So…how did it go?" he asked hesitantly. Aoko hadn't said anything to him about it while they'd been working together in the kitchen. She had, however, clearly been distracted.

Kaito shrugged, taking another bite of his roast beef sandwich. "Better than I expected, actually. Although to be honest I'm not sure if it's quite sunk in for her yet. I'll just have to wait and see. On the bright side, I'm fairly positive she's not going to drag me off to court."

The detective nodded. And that was the end of the matter. They had too many things they had to do right now for them to waste time and energy worrying over things that had not and may not happen. For now they would enjoy this fleeting moment of peace before they had to get back to work.

"Hey Shinichi."

"Hmm?"

"When this is all over, what do you say we take a vacation? Just the two of us."

Shinichi blinked slowly, blue eyes thoughtful, then smiled a bit wistfully. "It does sound nice. As long as nothing else comes up."

Kaito grinned and promised himself that he would make sure nothing did.

**TBC**

* * *

><p><strong>A.N<strong>: Er, so yeah, the people who know who KID is have now increased in number. To be honest, the oldest version of my plan for the story involved it eventually not being a secret at all, but that part of the plan got kicked out halfway through the story since it just didn't fit anymore. Well, thanks for reading and I'll see you next time! ^_^


	34. Jigsaw

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

* * *

><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

34: Jigsaw

"Oh yeah, I've been meaning to find time to show you this."

"What?" Shinichi asked curiously, turning to the magician seated beside him. They had finished their meal some minutes ago and he was currently nursing the cup of coffee he'd brought up with the sandwiches.

Kaito made a quick show of how his hands were empty. Then he brought them together and pulled them apart to reveal that he was now holding a piece of white paper. The paper had creases that indicated it had been folded several times before.

"I met a lady in the television station who gave me this," he explained.

Shinichi almost choked on his coffee. "What?! Why didn't you mention this earlier?"

"There wasn't any point," the magician replied amiably. "Anyway, I'm pretty sure the lady was the one who's been spying on us. She about admitted as much when I asked. She's also the one who told me where I could find you."

"So that's how you found me so quickly…"

"That's right. She called herself Sukino. She asked me to get her the things on this paper." He waved said paper around a bit for emphasis.

"Did you agree?"

"No, but I did say I'd think about it. It was strange though. She seemed…" He paused, searching for the right words. "Desperate," he said finally. "And maybe a little sad, but determined."

That was certainly interesting. It could also explain why they hadn't been stormed yet. He'd wondered about that. Reaching out, he accepted the paper from Kaito and looked it over.

"These are all chemicals," he observed, brows furrowing. "And these quantities… What in the world could she want with these?"

"She didn't exactly explain. All she said was that there was something she needed to fix and that she meant us no harm."

"Hmm…" He had studied a variety of chemicals, though admittedly mostly the ones that could be used by murderers and those that could be used to counter them in cases where the victim might be able to be saved. Still, he was by no means an expert. "If only we knew what they were for…"

"We could always break into the police forensics labs," Kaito suggested. "I'm sure they'd have all the equipment we might need to run a few tests."

Shinichi shot him a sidelong look then shook his head. "I was thinking more going to my neighbor's house. Haibara set up a pretty sophisticated chemistry lab at Professor Agasa's while she was working on the antidote and I'm pretty sure she still does a lot of work there."

"All right then." Kaito stood up and stretched then offered Shinichi his hand. "Let's go."

Blue eyes stared at him. "What, now?"

"We still have a few hours of sunlight and we know most of our allies downstairs won't be up to much today—possibly longer."

"Shouldn't we wait until after dark?"

"I don't think it'll make that much difference unless you're thinking of bringing Yamada-kun. Don't worry, I'm sure I can get us there without being seen."

"We should at least let them know we'll be gone."

X

Mia had woken up with a splitting headache and scattered memories of Erika and the vase that had been in the corner of the room. It wasn't there anymore. Neither was Erika. From what she'd been told, Erika had actually never been there, but it didn't make the bump on her head hurt less to know it had been some stranger with shape shifting abilities who'd made it. And these days, when Mia Salinger was annoyed, sparks flew. Literally.

"Mia-san, you're crackling again."

Sighing, the grad student ran a hand through her wild curls. Most of the sparks cathered to her fingers and fizzled out but a spattering of new ones danced through the locks despite her efforts. She let out a frustrated huff.

"Just remind me to stay away from water for a bit.

Ran smiled from her seat on the other couch. "That's probably not going to be a problem. I don't think this place comes with showers."

"All the more unfortunate," Mia replied, a wry grin making its way onto her face. "I do hope we get this all sorted out before we start to smell."

"Now that's a disturbing prediction of the future," Kazuha remarked as she came into their room. "So how are you two feeling?"

"I feel a lot better," Ran assured her. "Does anyone need help with anything?"

"Nah, we're all just resting now. How about you Mia-san?"

"I have a pounding headache, but otherwise I can't complain. Although I wouldn't mind giving that copycat a piece of my mind."

"I think a lot of people would, but it's something of a moot point since Kaitou KID is the only person who can open that—cube thing he put her in."

"Oh well. At least she was caught. I guess that'll have to do."

"So do you guys want to come downstairs?"

"I think I'll stay here a little bit longer," Ran replied.

Mia nodded in agreement then grimaced. "Considering my head spins when I move, I don't think I want to try the stairs just yet."

"All right. I'll come back to check on you guys later then. Just open the door and shout if you need anything."

Leaving the two to their rest, Kazuha headed back downstairs, pausing every now and then to peek in on the handful of others still gathering their strength. Most of them were asleep however. She arrived in the bowling alley to the most dour atmosphere she had ever had the misfortune of finding in an entertainment venue. Those people who were up and about were mostly gathered in the café seating area nursing cups of water over empty plates. Several kept shooting angry or uneasy glances at the flawlessly white cube where it stood near the other end of the room. No one seemed up to much, but neither did anyone look content with their lack of activity. The restlessness in the air was almost tangible.

"What's going on?" she hissed at Heiji as she sat down at the table he was currently seated at while he indulged in a mug of hot tea.

"Waiting," he sighed, shifting in his seat. "KID and Kudo still haven't come back. Everyone else is supposed to be recuperating."

Kazuha took another look around the tables and frowned then stood up abruptly. "Hey guys, anyone up for some bowling? I mean, this is a bowling alley, and the electricity's still working. So how about it?"

X

All the houses on the street were dark and still. The sight of his own house sent a strange sensation tingling through Shinichi's nerves. It felt like so long ago that he had last seen the place when in reality it hadn't even been two whole days yet. The street itself felt alien now that it was so devoid of human life.

He and Kaito made their way up to the front of Professor Agasa's door. It took him only a moment to find the spare key and unlock the door. They slipped quickly inside and shut the door behind themselves. The inside of the house was just as quiet and still as the street outside. The bright, late afternoon sunlight was almost entirely blocked out by the closed curtains. Only thin streams of it managed to sneak in through the spaces around the edges to pierce the gloom. Tiny dust motes could be seen dancing through those glimmering shafts.

"It's this way," Shinichi whispered, heading for the hall.

A few minutes later they reached a closed door that had a sign dangling from a small nail on it. The sign read "Do Not Disturb". Ignoring it, Shinichi opened the door and stepped inside.

He froze at the familiar sound of a gun being cocked and a commanding if child-like, female voice. "Don't move."

"Ha—Haibara!" Shinichi gaped. "You're here!"

The small girl lowered the gun she'd had trained on him and gave him a look that clearly said she thought he was a fool. "Of course I am. Why are you here?"

"Uh, I—well…" He floundered for a moment under her stare. She might have grown to be one of his closest and most trusted friends over the years, but that didn't change the fact that she'd always had the creepiest stare he'd ever had the misfortune to encounter. "Wiat, does that mean Professor Agasa's still here too?"

"He's in his own lab. We saw the people leaving and decided it would be best to pretend we aren't here. Now answer the question."

Relief washed through Shinichi at the knowledge that the old inventor could also be removed from the list of people who needed to be found. "I was wondering if we could borrow your lab to do some research. But since you're here, maybe you could…?"

Her eyes narrowed. "We?"

"He means me, Ojou-san."

The little scientist started as KID appeared apparently from nowhere. He bowed to her, producing a bright, yellow rose which he offered to her with a charming smile. "We would be most grateful if you would offer us your assistance."

She gave him a very long, very unimpressed look but took the rose. "Fine. What is it?"

She listened in silence as they explained their current mission and recapped the happenings of the last two days. When they were done she took the paper and kicked them out of her lab with strict instructions not to bother her.

"Quite the personality there," Kaito observed as he took a seat on the living room couch. "Man, kids these days… So serious!"

Shinichi shot him an amused look before heading for the kitchen. "Technically, she's older than I am. Do you want anything to drink? We might be here for a while."

"Somehow I'm not surprised by that. And anything is fine."

Shinichi returned a few minutes later with a pot of steaming tea and a bowl of oranges. It was a little strange sitting there in the dark living room with bright, afternoon sunlight seeping past the curtains. It made Shinichi feel as though they should be whispering even though he knew no one would hear them.

That was why, when the little scientist reemerged from her lab almost two hours later, she found her guests cuddled up together on the couch. Shinichi was leaning against the thief who had an arm draped around him as he gesticulated with his empty cup to illustrate some story he was telling in a near whisper. She spent a moment just watching them with an almost imperceptible smile tugging at the corners of her lips before she cleared her throat to let them know she was there. Once she had their attention she handed the now much crinkled paper back to Kaito then poured herself a cup of tea before beginning to speak.

"I can't tell you what they might be for without knowing if this is a complete list of components or simply the final pieces of a project. However most things that can be done with these alone are unlikely to be particularly harmful."

Shinichi frowned. "Can't you tell us anything more specific?"

That earned him a"More specific means more time. I assumed you wanted answers today. Was there anything else?"

"Huh? Oh, no, no, thanks Haibara. Are you sure you two don't want to come back to the bowling alley with us?"

She cracked a small smile at that as she turned away from them. "The one that was nearly burned down this morning? I think we're better off here. I trust you can find your own ways out?"

"Yeah. I'll just go say goodbye to the professor."

X

Shinichi was more than a little surprised when they walked into the building to be greeted by a veritable buzz of pleasant chatter and activity. It sounded, well, just like you'd expect a lively bowling alley full of people having fun to sound.

And that was exactly what it looked like too when they walked into the room of lanes. Shinichi almost began to wonder if they'd gone to the wrong place except that one, the rest of the city was deserted, two, Kimura-san had still been on guard outside, and three, that was Hattori coming towards them with Hakuba in tow.

"Why does it look like you're holding a bowling tournament in here?" Shinichi asked as they drew close enough to hear him over the din.

"Because we are," Hattori replied with a shrug and a grin.

"We're out working and you're having a bowling tournament?" The magician gave the two an incredulous look. "That's hardly fair."

The Osakan scratched at the back of his head. "It was Kazuha's idea. She thought it would help people loosen up after what happened this morning."

"It certainly seems to be working," Shinichi observed.

"It was a good idea," Hakuba agreed. "However, it does not change the fact that we do not yet have a plan of action and our time may be very much limited. If the shifter was indeed sent out with others to search for us, it may be that she was responsible for only this area. If so then when she does not return they will know where to look. And if they can narrow it down, chances are the one who was spying on us before would be able to find us without much effort."

"Oh damn, I almost forgot they had someone who could do that," Hattori muttered. "But I guess if they had to scan the whole city it should still take them some time."

Shinichi glanced at Kaito out of the corner of his eyes but neither of them spoke. They had talked about the woman with the pale, pale eyes on their way back. They were both of the opinion that Sukino, whatever her real intentions, would most likely do her best to delay revealing their actual location if she had a choice in the matter. After all, she still wanted KID to get her those chemicals. He couldn't do that if he was busy fighting her compatriots. Kaito, however, had opted against sharing that particular issue with the others. He'd claimed they had more than enough other problems to think about to be getting along with. While that was true, Shinichi couldn't help but wonder if that was the real reason for the magician's choice of silence. After all, Kaito was a man of secrets, and he'd already been forced to part with some of his most guarded ones that day.

"Why are you all standing in the door way?" Aoko's voice cut in as she appeared beside them with a bowling ball under one arm. "There are chairs for a reason."

The five of them made their way to a corner table farthest from the activity.

"So what did you guys find out?" Hattori asked without preamble the moment they were all seated.

"Not very much," Shinichi replied honestly. "I agree with Hakuba-san though. We need to make a plan." Much to Kaito's amusement, the detective produced a notebook. "Our first objective is to find the missing citizens and the location—or locations—of our enemies. Once we have done that we will need to find a way in. The key will be to capture and incapacitate Imazaki-san, then give everyone who's being controlled a good shock to snap them out of his control."

In the background the bowling tournament continued. Balls of varying weights and colors thudded onto the lanes to fill the air with the rumble of their rolling gaits punctuated by the hollow clucks of scattering pins.

The strategy meeting lasted well into the night. Its participants rotated through the hours as people dropped by to give their own suggestions and deliver information and observations they remembered that they felt might be useful. Others like Kimura-san spent long ours at the table when he wasn't on watch duty, adding his policeman's experience to the mix. When they finally called it a day they were all pleased to be able to announce that they had at least what looked like a good plan of action considering the information currently available to them.

With just about everyone retired for the night except for Yamada—who'd once again volunteered to take night watch—Kaito decided it was time they move their prisoner. He might be able to keep the containment up without much effort, but the sight of it just sitting there in the middle of the room made a lot of people uncomfortable. So he stepped into the cube. Shinichi waited outside. A few minutes later the white barrier melted away, revealing KID carrying the unconscious shape shifter.

"I got some food we can leave in the room with her," Shinichi said, leading the way to the room that had been prepared for the purpose.

The thief nodded. "I'll set up another field once she's in. You know, for someone who's been caught, she's still got quite the attitude. Told me we had no idea just how outnumbered we are and how it's only a matter of time before we lose."

Shinichi frowned slightly, his mind circling around those words. There was that game terminology again, but the other bit… There was something in there that tugged at his thoughts. He turned it over and over in his mind as he and Kaito placed the copycat into her new room with the food and water rations before KID set up a faintly tinted force field that would leave space for them to open and close the door but give the prisoner some room to move about to. It wasn't until they got back to their own room that he spoke.

"I just had an extremely unpleasant thought."

Kaito paused in the motion of setting his hat on the table, one eyebrow rising. "Yes?"

"Well… We already know Imazaki-san thinks about this like it's a video game. What do you normally do at the beginning of a video game?"

"Pick a name."

"I mean after that."

"Well, it depends. In role playing games you can usually pick your profession of choice, although that's not always the case. Then you run around fighting to get stronger, collect allies, complete quests, beat bosses, so on and so forth."

"And the shape shifter just told you we are—or will be—greatly outnumbered. More so than we believe, as it must be fairly obvious to everyone by now that we have a disadvantage in numbers."

"Will be…?" Kaito repeated. "So you think Hypnotist-san is collecting allies?"

"Exactly. And what do you do with allies?"

"With his methods, all he can do is order them around."

"Well, yeah, but that's not what I was talking about. In a game, you want powerful allies with varying skills. We already know he was specifically targeting the people who reacted to the smoke at the museum. But what if that wasn't enough? We also know they probably took stuff from that chemical lab. What if he wants to see what other kinds of allies he could get before he sets out on whatever he's decided is the quest for his game?"

"You mean…"

"It's just a theory, but I think he might be planning to expose the rest of the city to the concoction he first made at the museum."

**TBC**

* * *

><p><strong>A.N<strong>: To be honest, I kind of really don't like the end there, but I guess it'll have to do. Ah well, anyhow, thanks for reading and I'll see you in two weeks. ^_^


	35. Tactics

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

* * *

><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

35: Tactics

The first step, everyone had agreed, was to find the kidnapped citizens and locate the hypnotist and his allies. Hakuba, with his new language skills, had been placed in charge of trying to locate Imazaki himself. They had reasoned that they knew there were people looking for them and these people had to report back to the man at some point. Therefore if they could find at least one, preferably more, of the searchers then they could follow them to the man himself. Or at least to some kind of headquarters. For the task he had been assigned about two dozen helpers—all of them small, feathery, and beady-eyed.

"You better be nice to them or they have permission to peck you," the thief had cheerfully informed him before his expression turned deadly serious. "And then they'll come tell me and you'll wish they were still at it."

"I know how to treat animals," he'd snapped, but now he had to admit, if only to himself, that KID's doves were… He wasn't sure how to put it, except maybe 'mindboggling'.

The thief had told him they knew what they were supposed to do. All Hakuba had to do was tell them where to look and organize the information they brought back. Therefore the blonde had brought a map of the city into the room where the doves were lined up on the various pieces of furniture, waiting. It was one of the few upstairs rooms with a window facing away from the main street.

/Oh no, it's the weird one,/ was the first thing he heard upon walking into the room.

The dove next to the speaker nudged it. /Be nice. He can't help how he was made./

This, the blond detective thought with a grimace, was going to be an awkward day. He wondered briefly if Kuroba had trained his doves to behave like this, but no, there was no way for him to. After all, he couldn't understand what they were saying. Still…something must have rubbed off. He knew for a fact normal birds didn't act like this.

Downstairs at the tables in the bowling alley, Yamada was introducing a boy and a girl who shared a remarkable resemblance to each other to Shinichi, Hattori, and Mia. The three had been placed in charge of what Hattori laughingly called 'battle plans'. Granted, the name was probably much more accurate than any of them would like to think.

"This is my friend Oguro Akira and his twin sister Mina. They weren't at the museum, but I was telling them about some of the people we might be running into and they had some ideas I thought you might want to hear."

"Well, the more the merrier," Mia replied with a sardonic smile and a shrug. "Take a seat."

"So we were thinking about the people we know are in that hypnotist guy's army—"

"Wait, wait, _army_?" Hattori sputtered.

"Well, yeah, isn't that what they are? Anyway, we believe that our main obstacles if we want to corner and take out the boss—I mean Imazaki—would be the girl who can teleport and that guy who runs really fast," Ogura Akira began, eyes bright with a kind of barely contained excitement mixed with a dash of focused determination. "The first would make it much too easy for them to run even if we covered all the escape routes and the second can do a lot before we even realized he was there."

"Well actually Mitsuki-san is fast, but he can't keep it up for long periods at a time."

"Really? How do you know that?" Hattori asked in surprise.

For some reason the question made Shinichi grimace. "He told me in between asking me about one of my cases and telling me about the case he was writing that was inspired by it."

"That's good then," Mina announced, mirroring her brother's enthusiasm. "What we need to do first is catch the teleporter and find a way to keep her here. So what we thought was that…"

In the kitchen, Kimura stared across the table at the master thief Kaitou KID. The same man he and his fellow task force officers had been trying and failing to put behind bars for years. Fate certainly had a twisted sense of humor.

"Kimura-san, I get the distinct impression that you are not listening to what I am saying," the thief admonished, sounding like an adult scolding an inattentive child.

A moment later a thunk echoed through the kitchen. KID gazed across the table at the officer with a bemused expression as the man's forehead hit the table. That was… Frankly, what it was was funny, but it would make their job a lot harder if the man couldn't pull himself together. Of course he could do the job himself, but Shinichi had been right when he'd said that it would be a lot faster with Kimura's particular abilities.

"Kimura-san?" he prodded again.

With a visible effort, the policeman sat back up and straightened his shoulders. "I—I'm sorry. I… So, we will be going to each of these structures that you and Kudo-kun believe the citizens are most likely to be held in."

"Exactly. Don't worry about the getting there, I'll handle that. But once we reach each place, it'll be your job to take a quick look around and see if it's a hit or miss."

"Right, right… Um, so…when are we supposed to do this…?"

The thief grinned and the policeman fought the urge to turn around and dive for cover. "Technically, we were supposed to have left five minutes ago, but since it's five minutes too late for that we'll be leaving now."

X

"Saguru?"

The British detective looked up from his now considerably marked up map at the sound of his name to see Aoko standing by his table. He hadn't even heard her come in. She was wearing a slight frown as she studied him for several seconds before setting the tray she'd brought with her on the table beside the map.

"You didn't come down for lunch so I brought your share up instead. It's not as hot as it would've been but it's still warm—or it will be if you eat now," she added, giving him a pointed look. "Ran made it. It's very good."

Hakuba glanced towards the window, saw that the sill was deserted, and set his pen across the map. "Thank you. I apologize for missing lunch. I—lost track of time."

She laughed at that. "I can't remember the last time you did that."

He coughed lightly, obviously embarrassed. The ability to never lose track of time was one thing he had always been immensely proud of.

"It's all right, you know," the brunette said. Picking up the small teapot on the tray, she poured him a cup before taking one herself and pulling up an empty chair. "We all have a lot on our minds. I'm just glad we can start doing something." She glanced down at the map spread out on the table. There were arrows and circles and tiny blocks of notes all over it. An open notebook lay on its other side, also full of the blonde's neat handwriting. "Have you made any progress?"

"Some, but not as much as I would have liked," he replied honestly as he picked up his fork and began to eat the pasta she had brought for him. "How are the others?"

"Kazuha-chan's organized another tournament. I think it's been a great help for keeping people's minds off things. The strategy meeting seemed like it was going pretty well, though it sounds kind of funny—like some kind of chess game gone mad."

Hakuba chuckled. "In a way, perhaps it is. Has there been any news from Kuroba?"

Aoko froze for a moment before she shook her head. Seeing it, Hakuba frowned, feeling a touch of guilt at having asked. He'd been trying to prove he was right about Kuroba being KID for so long that it hadn't crossed his mind to think of how Aoko might be affected by the news. It was stupid of him to not have thought of it. It was just that, well, she'd never believed his claims and maybe he'd been kind of frustrated that she'd never believed him on that count. But that didn't excuse his thoughtlessness. It was, however, to late to retract or rephrase the question.

"Ka—KID and Kimura-san are still out." She just couldn't bring herself to call him by name when he was in that outfit. It made her feel bad though. She didn't want to think of him differently. He would always be her childhood friend—that silly magician who could always make her laugh. This…_discovery_ couldn't change that—she wouldn't let it. With everything that had happened lately, the thought of losing another friend was just… Well, it just wasn't worth it. That wasn't to say that it didn't upset her—and really she felt she had every right to be mad—but…well, the past was the past, it couldn't be changed, but the future could and that should be what was important. She didn't know what that meant for when this was over (would he stop stealing if she asked him to?), but the one blessing of the situation was that she didn't have to think about it now. "Um, there's a bird on the windowsill. I think it's watching you."

The blonde followed her gaze to see that there was indeed a dove sitting on the windowsill.

/Don't mind me,/ it assured him when it saw him looking in its direction. /It is only proper to take some time out of the day to spend with your mate. I can wait./

Aoko felt her eyebrows rise as she watched Saguru's face turn red. The color was accompanied by the strangest expression she had ever seen on his face. "What did it say?"

"Nothing! I mean, it was just…a—a bird thing."

"…A bird thing."

"It's… They use these terms—or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that whatever part of my brain interprets their speech interprets many of the terms they use differently. From the ones that humans would use, I mean."

"Yeah?" She leaned forward, intrigued. "Like what?"

"Well… One of them referred to children as chicks."

Aoko blinked then laughed. "I guess I should let you two talk then. I'll take these dishes back down to the kitchen."

X

"Honey, I'm home~."

Shinichi was rather proud of himself for not jumping out of his skin at the voice singing out right into his ear. He didn't manage to stop the color from rising in his face however when he turned around to all but bump noses with the magician. "Do you really have to keep sneaking up on me?"

"Of course. I am a thief after all." Said thief ducked his head to steal a quick kiss from the smaller boy before stepping back to drop a smoke bomb and 'transform' KID's white uniform into a set of casual clothes. Seeing Shinichi blush went a long way in lifting his spirits from where they had been somewhat weighed down by a day full of empty buildings. "So did you miss me?"

"You've only been gone for a day Kaito."

"Doesn't mean I can't ask, right?" The magician flopped on the couch that had served as their bed for the past few nights, dragging Shinichi down onto his lap. "I hope your day was better than mine."

Shinichi gave up on trying to wiggle out of Kaito's grasp and frowned. "Was it that bad?"

"Well, no, not really," Kaito admitted after a moment's thought. "It's just that I'd hoped for better results. We didn't get as far as I'd planned either. It was kind of funny how Kimura-san twitched every time I moved and jumped whenever I said something, but it's difficult to get things done with any kind of speed when every time you tell your coworker to do something he gives you a suspicious look and asks you why."

"Maybe I should talk to him."

"No, that's okay. He was getting better by the end of today's round. Besides," he added, smirking into his partner's hair. "Watching him twitch does add a dash of humor to what would otherwise be a tedious task."

Shinichi just shook his head. "Yes, well, you should probably keep that piece of information to yourself. I don't think Kimura-san would appreciate it. So have you had anything to eat yet?"

"We helped ourselves to some goods from a bakery we passed. I brought some back with us. No point letting it go to waste after all." Unwrapping an arm from around Shinichi, Kaito waved at the table. There was a flash of light and a small cake appeared alongside of two paper plates, a knife, and a pair of forks. "We also picked up a few other supplies—toiletries and that kind of thing."

"And Kimura-san was okay with it?" Shinichi asked, curious.

"I wouldn't say he was ecstatic, but he understands the necessities of our situation. I do think I saw him leaving them his number."

"You know," the detective began, hand rising reflexively to his chin. "Imazaki-san has to be feeding his captives. None of the shops around here have been looted yet, but it's been a few days so they have to be getting food from somewhere. Of course he could just order the owners to hand stuff over—" The rest of his words came out as a series of muffled, incoherent noises due to the hand that had clamped itself over his mouth. He turned his head in an attempt to dislodge the hand. Failing that, he turned a glare on its owner.

His glare was met by the magician's own determined look. "I've been working all day, you've been working all day," he stated in a tone that forbad argument. "We, therefore, are taking a break. I'm going to let you go know, but when you open your mouth I expect it to be telling me whether you'd like the slice of cake with the strawberries or the one with the peaches. Agreed? Good."

**TBC**

* * *

><p><strong>A.N<strong>: And the doves return! Hehe. And the final confrontation is about to commence. ^_^ See you next time!


	36. Open Fire

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

* * *

><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

36: Open Fire

"Are you sure about this?"

The thief's white grin flashed in the darkness of the night. "Nope, but my gut says we should give her the benefit of the doubt. I'm a pretty good judge of character, if I do say so myself, and I believe she was telling the truth when she said she meant us no harm."

"You're probably right," Shinichi mused, shaking his head. "So we're just going to leave it here?"

"With a message, yes. The note did say we could pick any open roof. You might want to stand back."

The detective did as he was told, retreating to the door leading back into the building Kaito had chosen for the task. He watched as the magician produced a large paint roller from somewhere and began drawing on the roof around the unmarked containers piled in the middle. A few minutes later Kaito stood back with a satisfied grin to admire the giant KID doodle that now grinned up at the night sky.

"Is that it then?"

The thief nodded. "That's it. Let's head back before the others notice we're missing."

X

It had taken three days but their combined efforts had finally born fruit. It was a good thing too. Everyone was restless and the tension in the building had been all but suffocating lately. Tempers had been running high and Shinichi had been afraid they would end up having some real fights on their hands if something didn't happen soon.

"This area here exhibits the greatest amount of activity," Hakuba explained to the silent gathering in the alley café's dining area. He had tacked several large sheets of paper onto the wall and drawn a map of the city on them. The whole thing was to scale and it looked like it had been printed (Aoko thought it was cute how much effort he put into making such things accurate. Kaito told Shinichi it just went to show how desperately in need of a life the blonde really was). "There are four major hotels there as well as a shopping center."

"That's where they were getting their supplies," Kimura explained. It had been incredibly bizarre seeing all those people mechanically going about the business of surviving (it wasn't living—nothing that automated could be called living). To be honest the whole scene had given him goose bumps. Having KID breathing down his neck hadn't helped. Although he had to admit the thief hadn't actually done anything while they were on their scouting trips. The strange thing was that the officer might have felt less on edge if he had. It was just too weird not being mercilessly pranked by the man. It made him wonder about his own mental state. Surely it wasn't normal to be more comfortable being pranked than being left alone.

"There also appear to be people being held here and here," the blonde continued, pointing to two other red circles on the map. "I believe, however, that Imazaki is here." He pointed to a different area which had been circled twice.

"Wait a moment, that's the science museum!" Yamada exclaimed.

Hakuba nodded. "It is. People from each of the other locations regularly make there way here—often with supplies. The other facilities have, as far as I was able to gather, no direct, physical contact with each other."

He had documented the specific individuals spotted at each location as described to him by KID's spy doves (they really were spy doves in every sense of the word). Unsurprisingly, many of the original kidnapped recruits including the Yamaki siblings appeared to have been stationed at the largest of the holding areas—the plaza of hotels. The other regions appeared mostly to be guarded by police.

"It maybe riskier, but I believe it would be to our best interest to seize the hotel plaza first. Its location makes it both the closest to the museum and not far from the other facilities. It being large and heavily defended, we will have to combine all our efforts, but once we have captured it we can split into smaller teams and go after Imazaki as well as the other holding facilities while giving them minimal amounts of time to realize what we are up to."

"I agree with Hakuba-san," Shinichi put in. "The faster we move, the less time they will have to prepare for us. However, that means we will have to know exactly what we're doing. I would recommend that each of us choose at least one other person to partner up with. Preferably we will all be able to work together, but if we get separated it would be better if no one is alone."

The idea was to incapacitate everyone who had been ordered to act as guards. The rest were unlikely to cause them any trouble in their hypnotized states. From what Kaito and Kimura had seen they spent most of their time just sitting around and staring blankly at nothing. If worse came to worse, Kaito had volunteered the use of part of his supply of sleeping gas (though since his supplies were limited, it was to be a last resort).

And that was how they had ended up here, hiding just beyond sight of the plaza's various guards, bracing themselves for what they all knew was going to be a battle.

X

Brand new and massive, the Blue Sea Hotel had been aptly decorated to reflect its name. The entrance hall housed an enormous fountain whose centerpiece was a statue of a mermaid pouring water into the basin from out of a conch shell. Kaito carefully avoided looking at the mermaid as he shadowed his detective. Shinichi could hear him muttering something about dreadful, slimy, scaly extremities ruining a perfectly good piece of art but he tuned it out. Kaito was, after all, the one who'd insisted on coming in with him even though he knew the hotel's mascot was a mermaid. Fortunately, the place had gone for waves, shells, and seascapes rather than underwater critters for their interior designs. It was the presence of the fountains, big and small, that had led the two of them to be assigned to the building.

"Do you think maybe we were wrong?" Shinichi whispered, frowning as he looked around the intersection of halls they had halted in. Beside him a small, rectangular fountain bubbled happily. They had expected to be attacked when they'd broken in, but so far they had seen no one at all. Of course the rooms were all upstairs, but there were supposed to be guards.

"Perhaps we should have come in the front door instead of the back after all," Kaito mused, alert eyes constantly scanning their surroundings.

"We would have attracted too much attention too fast," the detective sighed. "Maybe we should start shouting or something."

Kaito stiffened suddenly, indigo eyes narrowing. "I believe that will not be necessary."

Tensing at the magician's tone, Shinichi turned around quickly to see that the fountain was no longer bubbling the way it had been built to. Now it looked more like it was boiling as the water frothed madly, splashing out of the basin and beginning to send spouts higher and higher into the air. Then the shimmering liquid burst upward like a geyser, twisting together like a living creature before it lunged.

It smashed into an invisible wall and streams went blasting off to the sides in foaming white streaks. It sloughed over the ground like waves breaking on a shore. Shinichi had shut his eyes instinctively but he opened them again quickly, turning his head to search the ajoining hall mouths and the shadows behind the decorative, seashell adorned pillars.

"Damn, I don't see him," he muttered, anxiety making his pulse quicken. Outside of Kaito's force field the water level was rising as the fountain continued to spew frothing little waves that were once again rising.

The thief's reply was calm though Shinichi could sense the tightly controlled urge to act in the gloved hand resting on his forearm, ready to pull them away at any moment. "If we wait much longer we won't be leaving."

"I can't see clearly through all this spray," Shinichi replied. Ordering himself to remain calm, he took a deep breath. "I'm going to try to stop it. You find him."

Kaito nodded, bracing himself for what he knew was coming. The temperature dropped sharply a moment later and their next breaths came out in foggy puffs before their faces. Outside the air filled with the crackling sound of water freezing. Waves halted in mid swirl, frost glittering along their graceful curves as the spray that had filled the air fell in a shower of equally white snow. Water continued to overflow from the frost rimmed fountain however. It splashed over the ice and turned the snow to slush. Still, it gave Kaito the opportunity to find the humanoid shadow behind a far pillar.

Drawing his card gun in one swift motion, he dropped his barrier and fired. The figure leapt away from the two of hearts as the card lodged itself in the pillar. A thin snake of water rose and lashed out towards the thief but it splattered against another barrier. A second card forced the man responsible to duck.

"Let's go!" The magician snagged Shinichi's hand with his free one and bolted.

Making the quick decision that he'd rather get wet than risk the both of them breaking their necks on the water-slicked ice, Shinichi let go of his hold on the cold. An instant later the frozen waves came alive again, crumbling into streams and eddies before gathering towards the man just picking himself up off the floor. Then they were surging forward and both detective and thief picked up their pace, the latter's white cape flapping behind them just steps ahead of roaring, white crests.

Overhead, the soft hiss they had been expecting since stepping into the hotel began as the sprinklers sputtered to life.

X

"Man there is no way we're going to be able to afford it if the owners want us to pay for this damage when this is all over," Hattori muttered as he threw up his arm to shield himself from a shower of plaster bits and chips of wall.

"If the owners are around when this is all over to complain, they should be thanking us," Kazuha replied. "Duck!"

Hattori ducked. An instant later a powerful, concentrated gust of wind caught the golf ball that had just soared over his head and hurled it into another wall. It exploded upon impact with a brilliant flash of yellow light and another spray of debris. The second ball shot straight back at the young man who had thrown it who cursed and twisted out of the way.

Through the plaster dust and sparks, he shot them a venomous glare. There was real hatred in that glare, the Osakan detective thought, and a small part of him wondered once again at how this whole stupid mess had made what might otherwise have been perfectly normal people into these—well, he wasn't sure what the word was exactly, but it seemed as though once the weirdness had started everyone had started taking up sides and whatnot. There was Kazuha, who would never have wanted to be here before (she'd always said these things should be left to the police), only now she was protecting them from golf ball bombs because she could blow them away without touching them. And then there was the lunatic over there chucking the damned things who had probably been nothing more threatening than your everyday juvenile delinquent.

Or rather the lunatic who _had_ been over there a moment ago but who wasn't there anymore.

Pure instinct made him wrap an arm around Kazuha and throw them both into the mouth of an adjoining hall. Even so he was barely in time as another explosion took out the carpet where they had been standing and a piece of the floor with it.

"Kazuha, you all right?"

"Yeah," she replied, sounding slightly out of breath but otherwise unharmed.

"Good. That was way too close for comfort."

"Really? I thought it was sadly off the mark."

The Osakan duo froze halfway through pulling themselves to their feet and looked up. There were two pairs of feet standing directly in front of them. One led up to the smirking face of the boy who'd been trying to blow them up. The second belonged to a blank-faced girl standing just behind him, her hand resting on his shoulder and her eyes staring straight ahead.

Bingo, Heiji thought. He had to admit Hakuba had done a good job pinpointing the exact locations of each of their adversaries. They would have been in trouble if he hadn't. Not that they weren't in trouble anyway, he amended, but at least they had planned for this. Well, here went nothing.

In a sudden burst of motion, he propelled himself forward and into the legs of their adversaries. Chu let out a yell and made a grab for him, hands shimmering a faint yellow, but Hattori twisted out of the way and leapt back to his feet, backing away several steps before turning. His eyes met Kazuha's for a split second before they set off at a run.

X

Mia's cell phone had barely started to ring when she answered it. "Hello?"

"We're on our way," Shinichi's voice blurted over the line, his words almost inaudible over the sound of rushing water.

"We're ready," she replied.

"Good."

The line went dead and she turned to the small gathering behind her. "All right guys, let's get started. Remember, we just want to draw them out. We don't want to hurt anyone, but we don't want to _get_ hurt either."

X

Sonoko let out a yelp of indignant surprise as she felt hands latch around her upper arms in a grip that obviously wasn't meant to be friendly. She and Ran had just located the shopping center's security surveillance room. They had spotted someone inside, but before either of them could register who it was the person was gone and now this.

The petit girl reacted more out of instinct than any conscious thought. An instant later her assailant found himself tugging ineffectually on the arm of a person who made the floor beneath her creak with strain.

Ran turned, her eyes narrowing. She recognized Mitsuki-san and she knew she wouldn't have much time to act. Taking advantage of the man's momentary confusion, she struck out, landing a powerful kick that laid him out flat on the floor, groaning.

Sonoko rubbed at her arms, adjusting her weight back to normal as she gazed down upon the unconscious novelist. "That'll teach him not to try that again," she sniffed, prodding him with the toe of her shoe. "We should probably tie him up though just in case he wakes up."

X

He was never going to play tag again. Ever. Nor was he ever going to be able to live in this hotel without feeling paranoid. Then again, with the wreck in which they were leaving the lowest levels of the building, the owners would probably pay to have them stay away. He would have laughed at the thought if it wasn't for the small, glowing vase that almost clipped him on the ear. Time to pick a new direction—again.

At this rate they were never going to make it to where they needed to go.

And the plan had sounded so simple when the Oguro siblings had outlined it too.

The problem, of course, was that every time they turned a corner, there stood Chu with the Uchimura girl right behind him.

"I—I'm going to try something," Kazuha panted as they started down another hall. "Get down."

He didn't argue. He could already hear the footsteps closing in on them. Throwing himself flat on the ground, he turned his head to the side so he could see Kazuha standing beside him. She had one hand back like she was about to try and throw something, then she swept it forward in a sharp, jerking motion.

Heiji had heard wind whistle before. He had also heard it howl, but this was the first time he'd ever heard it roar—really roar like an enraged beast charging at a hated foe. He could feel it tear over him, making the back of his jacket ripple madly. He couldn't hear anything else over the din.

Then Kazuha was pulling on his sleeve, telling him to get up. "Hurry!"

Scrambling to his feet, the Osakan detective spared a glance down the hall behind them. Their pursuers, formerly hot on their heels, were now sprawled all the way at the far end. They were already getting up, but judging from their unsteady motions they had gained themselves some breathing space.

"Kazuha, that was amazing!"

"Thanks, now let's run!"

A few minutes later they skidded into one of the rooms the hotel offered for rent as meeting and party rooms. A second later their pursuers too crashed in only to find the place deserted.

"Damnit, where'd they go?" Chu snarled, eyes scanning the room. His gaze landed on the open balcony door. "Uchimura, get us out—"

He never got to finish as it was at that moment that Kimura leapt out of the wall and dealt a sharp blow to the back of his companion's head before driving a boot into his stomach. He doubled over and fell victim to the same move that had dropped his helper.

X

"Uh oh."

It really was the only phrase that came to mind, Shinichi reflected as his eyes landed on the wall that had risen up before them where no wall should be. It occupied the entire front of the hotel entrance hall. He could see right through it to the front doors since it was made of water, but that just meant he could see that it was at least a yard thick. To get through it they would have to be fully submerged for at least a few moments and then they might never get out again.

Kaito swore under his breath. "Of all the times for them to start using some strategy."

"We have to find another way."

"Too late for that."

Standing behind them in front of the mermaid fountain was Yamaki Ryo, stationary waves almost ten feet high rising and falling in place like anxious hounds just waiting for the huntsman's signal to pounce.

They were surrounded.

Funny how they could be surrounded by water and not drowning—yet.

And it was still sprinkling.

Shinichi's mind raced. "You know," he whispered out of the corner of his mouth, never mind that their adversary probably wasn't doing much active listening behind that emotionless stare. "I noticed earlier that it takes him a moment to regain control of the water after it unfreezes."

"Sounds risky," the thief replied. He didn't have to ask what Shinichi was getting at. "But worth a try." He blocked another spout of water that reached from the shimmering walls and tried to grab them. That was when he noticed that his clothes seemed to be getting wetter despite the force field he'd set up over their heads. It was almost as though the moisture in the air itself was gravitating towards them. "And you better hurry before he tries something I can't stop."

Being cold on top of being wet wasn't all that much to cheer about, but the walls of frosted ice were much more appealing than their liquid predecessors. The two teens backed quickly towards the icy sheet before the main doors. If they'd had time, Kaito would have liked to hang around and just watch for a while. The way the tiny water droplets crystallized upon leaving the sprinklers to fall as fluffy, white flakes was, well, like magic, to be honest.

This kind of thing was supposed to happen in the upper atmosphere, not down here where people could see.

But they had a job to do. Maybe another time. Noticing that he had suddenly lost a lot of leverage, the elder Yamaki began to pull fresh streams out of the fountain behind him. They collapsed however when Kaito fired off two more shots, making him jump back. The man's foot slipped on the ice encrusted floor and he fell backward. At the same moment, almost as though they were following the man's example, the frozen walls too fell. With a roar they collapsed and water sprayed in every direction. For the thief and the detective in their midst it felt like running through a waterfall. They had to fight against the water crashing down on them as it tried to force them off their feet. Then the main doors lost the battle to the pressure and banged open, letting the pent up water gush out into the plaza with three little humans in tow.

The sudden flood caught the riot of people outside completely (or not so completely in some cases, in other words those who'd known it should be coming) by surprise. Several of them were swept off their feet by the current as all the water swirled around the plaza before seeping away into the drains. It left behind it an entire plaza of large puddles and sopping wet people.

"Mia!" Shinichi shouted across the plaza, spotting that familiar mane of frizzled curls.

"I got it," she called back as the air crackled. A moment later they couldn't hear anything because Kaito had raised force fields around himself and Shinichi as well as their other visible allies. Not a moment too soon too as lightning blazed through the air like blue fire.

The combination of wet policemen and crackling electricity left the plaza in a mess of collapsed and groaning bodies. Shinichi hoped fervently that Mia hadn't overdone it. At least everyone looked alive.

"I must say," the linguistics student remarked, pushing her now wet hair out of her face. "That went remarkably well."

**TBC**

* * *

><p><strong>A.N<strong>: I have a terrible headache today… Anyhow, thanks for reading and see you next time. ^.^


	37. Back to the Beginning

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

* * *

><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

37: Back to the Beginning

Well or not, they didn't have time to celebrate. A small contingent led by Sonoko was left at the hotel plaza with the task of watching over the—for lack of a better term—captives. They were hoping that the electric shock would have cleared at least some of the minds of the police. The rest they would attempt to 'wake' a little at a time. As Sonoko had said, "It's not like they're going anywhere". Mia and Kimura had taken their own teams and headed off towards the other holding areas, leaving those remaining to turn their attention to the museum.

They (or rather Kaito, and surprisingly Kimura) had taken a few sets of spare keys off the unconscious police officers. No one was going to argue with the extra transportation though. Instead they divided into their respective teams and headed out.

Hakuba _did_ give KID a strange look when he slid behind the wheel of their patrol car though. "_You're_ driving?"

"Well, it's certainly not going to be any of you," was the cheerful reply. "Besides, I've always wanted to try driving a cop car."

"You _have_?" The blonde looked greatly disturbed by this revelation. "Why?" Obviously he was having second thoughts about getting in the car, but Hattori, who was standing behind him and getting impatient, shoved him into the backseat before climbing in himself, followed shortly by Kazuha. The blonde settled grudgingly onto his seat and clicked the seatbelt into its slot before turning to give the Osakan an irritated look.

Sensing another inane argument coming, Shinichi hit the switch that would block out the sound from the backseats. Now he could see their mouths moving through the dividing screen but he couldn't hear a thing.

"It's too bad you can't do that in everyday life," he thought aloud. "It would save me so many headaches…"

"I know the next best thing," Kaito offered with a sly grin as he started the engine and pulling out of the parking lot. "Helium. I've been thinking about doing something with it for a heist. Can you imagine old man Nakamori trying to yell the way he's always doing with a high, squeaky voice?"

Shinichi couldn't suppress a snort of laughter (because really he _could_ imagine it—as well as the look that would probably be on the man's face). And then he imagined Hattori and Hakuba having one of their arguments in chipmunk tones. He had to admit there was a certain appeal to the idea. For one, he had a feeling any argument carried out under such a circumstance would be short lived. "If you let me know when, I can bring a voice recorder."

"And then we can broadcast it to the whole city!"

"Um, I think that might be going a bit too far. Aoko-san would probably kill you."

Kaito made a face then sighed. "If she doesn't decide to anyway when this is over you mean."

"I don't think she will," Shinichi said seriously. "I know I don't know her as well as you do, but from what I've seen of the way she's been acting since she found out… She still cares about you. She just needs time to get used to the idea."

"Yeah, I know," the magician admitted, eyes softening. "Although this may mean I'm going to have to crash at your place next time I send a notice. You know, just in case she changes her mind."

"You can stay at my place any time." The detective paused, then turned pink and stammered, "I—I mean it's not like I don't have lots of room."

He half expected the thief to make a joke, but he only smiled. "Thank you, that's good to know." He cast a glance back over his shoulder at the people still arguing silently in the backseat and snickered. "It kind of feels like I've arrested a bunch of detectives." Now wouldn't that be an awesome theme for a heist, he mused. He could rig the venue so it could be quickly converted into a makeshift jail—with the task force on the inside. He could dress them all in white and black stripes like they did in old cartoons. Hmm, maybe for Halloween.

X

There were almost thirty of them. Every one of them looked exactly the same. Each was tall, thin, and covered in skin like rough bark with long, angular limbs and round, black, button eyes. Whoever was controlling them, however, was nowhere in sight. Or maybe he or she was just somewhere inside that stick monster forest. At the moment they were standing perfectly still with their flat eyes staring ahead but there was the sense about them that this state of inaction could change very quickly very fast. They were also standing in such a way so that it would be impossible to get to the door without touching them or being seen.

"Maybe we should go around," Hakuba suggested, staring out into the bristling, animated wood. He could still remember what it felt like to have those things clawing at him. They weren't smart, but they were strong—much stronger than their fragile appearance suggested. Those long, pointed fingers were also terribly sharp.

"I think they go around too," Kazuha replied. Her eyes were closed and there was a gentle breeze sliding around them. "I'm not one hundred percent sure, but I think there's another group on the other side."

"Well, at least it's pretty obvious which building we should look in," Hattori mused. "Kind of nice of them really considering how many wings there are."

The blond detective frowned. "Then perhaps this is a misdirection."

Shinichi shook his head. "No. This is the building with the equipment first used to generate that smoke. A lot of that equipment was specially designed for the professor's studies. If they really do want to recreate the substance, their best bet would be to do it here."

"I could make us a bridge up to one of the upper floors," Kaito offered, scanning the second floor windows.

"You want us to walk up there on an invisible bridge?" The Osakan shuddered. "No thanks."

"It doesn't have to be invisible, but it would rather defeat the purpose if it could be seen."

"I'd rather take my chances with the tree monsters then."

"But then, what, are we going to fight our way in?" Kazuha frowned. "That doesn't sound exactly…"

"Wise?" Hakuba filled in for her. "And don't forget, we do not know where their creator is. From what we've seen they become much more nimble in their creator's presence."

"In their sight," KID corrected.

"But it isn't possible for one person to watch both sides of the building at once," Shinichi said slowly, eyeing the surrounding buildings just to be sure. "But if these things were the only guards I had, I'd want to try. I'm sure there are security cameras throughout the museum. So if I were to use these things for guards, I'd hook up cameras to watch the outside too and put the monster manipulator in the control room."

Hattori shot him a dour look. "It sounds like what you're saying is there's no way we're getting in without being noticed. How is that helpful?"

"It means the fastest way is the best way," Kaito answered before Shinichi could. "As long as we can keep our heads cool, the element of surprise will give us an advantage even on their home turf."

"Cool heads, huh?" the Detective of the West muttered. "That gives me an idea. So what we want is to get in quickly right? And probably cause as much confusion as we can?"

The others all turned to look at him.

"What do you have in mind?" asked Kazuha.

"Just a way to get us through and make it hard for them to see exactly which of us are here right away," he declared. "If you're all ready, I only need a moment." Squaring his shoulders, he directed his gaze to Hakuba.

The blonde waited a few seconds before pointedly clearing his throat. "Why are you staring at me?"

"Shut up. I'm trying to remember everything you've ever said to me."

One blond eyebrow rose. "Oh? Have you finally decided to learn from my advice?"

"Hell no. But thanks, I just needed to be annoyed enough ta do this." The Osakan turned and raised a hand. Flames burst to life before him and he stepped out of their hiding place to stride towards the monsters.

He didn't have to go far.

The creatures reacted so quickly it was almost like they had known he was coming and were just lying in wait for him to make the first move. The closest five swarmed at him, covering the distance between them practically like it wasn't there at all.

The Osakan detective took an involuntary step back which probably saved his life. Then the flames caught hold of the creatures' long limbs and began to spread. The things had no voices, but they began to thrash, lashing out uncontrollably as the flames wrapped around their bodies. There was something terrible about the sight.

Yet the rest of the bark monsters kept coming, either oblivious to or just not caring about the danger they were putting themselves in. They still had numbers on their side.

Biting her lip, Kazuha stepped out into the open behind Heiji and raised her arms. The gentle breeze that had been circling them before suddenly grew stronger. It swept forward, catching the leaping flames and carrying them into the rest of the cluster of bark creatures. In moments the whole area was a mess of leaping flames, flailing limbs, and rising smoke.

Under the cover of the chaos, the five teens made their way to the doors.

X

"They've sure done a lot of redecorating in here," Kaito remarked, indigo eyes scanning their surroundings for signs of danger.

"More remodeling than redecorating," Shinichi replied absently, his own brows furrowed slightly. The place no longer bore any resemblance to the museum building it had once been. Instead it looked like the bizarre hybrid of a mad scientist's lab and a high tech warehouse out of a science fiction movie. Tanks, tubes, pipes, and strange, glowing, humming things that frankly none of them could make heads or tails out of were everywhere.

Shinichi paused by one of the large, cylindrical metal tanks and ran his fingers lightly over its surface. Then he examined the pipes connecting it to its neighbors. Everything hummed softly under his fingertips.

"Look at this, it's seamless—like it just formed this way," he murmured. "You'd need either extremely specialized machinery to make this, or in our case probably someone with specialized skills. It would be best if we keep a watch out for someone with abilities we haven't encountered yet."

"We should also keep in mind that the creature manipulator is probably still watching us," Hakuba added. "There are more of those creatures at the other entrance. They may decide to come in after us."

"Or just tell whoever else is here that they've got company," KID supplied. "Now that we have reestablished the knowledge that we have enemies, I suggest we hurry and find Imazaki."

X

In the interest of time and maneuverability, they split into two teams when the paths available to them split (hopefully, it would also serve to distract the person they knew probably saw them come in). Kaito and Shinichi had opted to head in the direction they remembered the original lab exhibit had been in. Although with how much the interior of the building had changed Shinichi wasn't holding out high hopes that it would be that easy.

Of course, his luck being what it was, that was precisely when they rounded the corner to see an all too familiar face blocking their way. With a gun—raised and ready.

"Satou-keiji."

The woman showed no reaction to the sound of her own name. Seeing the flat, expressionless look in her eyes sent a sudden burst of anger rushing through Shinichi. To think that Imazaki really believed he had the right to toy with people this way… It was so wrong it was sickening. Not only was he making people do things they would never otherwise have wanted to, he was stealing pieces of their lives—time they would never get back. He knew better than most what it felt like to have pieces of your life stolen just like that. Time once lost could never be taken back. And to be forced to spend that time like this… It was unforgivable.

The air cracked as Satou-keiji pulled the trigger.

Kaito blocked the shot on reflex, robbing it of all its momentum and leaving it to clatter and roll across the floor. The woman tried to shoot again but found herself unable to move. He took a step forward with a mind to take the gun from her but something struck him from behind right between the shoulder blades. He let out a hiss of pain as he staggered forward but he caught himself before he fell and spun to catch a glimpse of Takagi-keiji before the man faded completely from sight. Again. Because naturally he'd probably been there the whole time. Damn, even his skills wouldn't help them find someone who technically didn't exist until he decided to make a move like he had just now.

And as Kaito lost his concentration, his force fields dissolved. Shinichi threw himself sideways and into the magician, knocking them both to the ground as another shot split the air over their heads. Wrapping an arm around Shinichi to keep him close, the thief raised a barrier around them, shielding them from the next shot.

"We need to knock her out," Shinichi hissed, guilt twisting in his stomach at the thought but knowing they didn't have a choice.

"What about Mister Ghost? I can't tell where he is."

"He needs to be visible to actually do anything. You focus on Satou-keiji and I'll keep an eye out for him."

Two more shots ricocheted off of the force field protecting them.

"On three," Kaito muttered. "One, two—"

Another shot followed by an empty click.

"Three!"

He dropped his barrier and sprang to his feet as Shinichi rolled towards the wall. Zeroing in on the policewoman attempting to reload her gun, he leapt forward. She dropped the gun as she saw him coming in favor of her considerable skills in the martial arts. He dodged the kick she aimed at his stomach and whipped out a can of sleeping gas.

Shinichi had risen to his feet with his back to the wall. His position gave him a good view of the hall before him. He tried not to focus on any one spot in particular. Instead he waited for any sign of movement or color where there shouldn't be any with his hand hovering over the button on his belt that would provide him with a ball to use.

Satou-keiji had stepped back in an attempt to avoid the spurt of sleeping gas aimed at her face, but it was too late. Her steps faltered and she swayed before falling backward. Takagi reappeared just in time to catch her. It seemed even the hypnotist's trance couldn't make him forget that he cared about her.

And just in time to be on the receiving end of the soccer ball Shinichi had produced from his belt just for that moment. He gave the policeman a silent apology as the ball connected with the side of Takagi's head. The officer staggered and collapsed in a heap right beside the unmoving Satou.

"I'll just take these then," Kaito muttered as he knelt down beside them and relieved Satou of the remaining cartridges for her gun. That done, he and Shinichi shifted the two unconscious police officers into more comfortable positions leaning against the wall. If they were lucky, the two would be back to normal when they woke up. As Kaito pointed out, the soccer ball to the head at least had to be quite a shock. Either way they would have to come back for the two later. For now they had to keep going.

"That door," Kaito said a few minutes later, pointing to a nondescript door farther down the hall. "If they didn't move it, that should be the surveillance center. Why don't we go say hello."

Shinichi nodded and the two made their way to the door. To their surprise, it stood slightly ajar. Through the crack they could see the glow of television monitors. They could also just make out the form of a man sitting before the wall of monitors. He was slumped over the control panel before him and even from where they stood outside they could hear him snoring gently.

Frowning, Shinichi silently pushed open the door and walked inside for a better look. A half empty cup of tea sat abandoned beside the sleeping man. When Shinichi checked the cup was still warm, indicating that it hadn't been there for very long.

Blue eyes met indigo over the man's head, both coming to the same conclusion. The man had most likely been drugged. The question was, why? And by who? It must have happened within the last ten or fifteen minutes if the tea had been drunk from and was still faintly warm.

"He should sleep for an hour or so," a soft voice said from the door.

The two turned in unison in its direction. There, standing framed by the doorway, was a woman Kaito recognized. It was impossible to forget those eyes—so pale they were practically white.

"Sukino-san."

**TBC**


	38. Shatter

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

* * *

><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

38: Shatter

"Creepy does not even begin to cover this," Hattori said flatly. The others could only agree.

Before them stretched what had once been the basement level. It had been cleared of whatever walls and other partitions it might once have had so that they could see clear from one end of the floor to the other. And there, arrayed in rows that stretched across that distance, were what looked like metal coffins with glass lids. Each coffin contained a person. They looked like they were sleeping.

Or dead.

But none of them were ready to think about them as being dead.

Each coffin also had a pipe connecting it to a network of other pipes that stretched across the ceiling like some sort of spiderweb. The pipes themselves formed a forest of hollow, metal pillars. The eerie atmosphere was completed by the dim miasma of light cast by the series of lamps that had been spaced throughout the chamber.

"I believe these are the next test subjects," Hakuba said grimly.

"Next?" Kazuha repeated, casting him a confused look.

"I am fairly certain that it would not be too farfetched to assume that we were the first."

"Oh." She hadn't thought about it like that before, but now that he'd mentioned it she could believe it. It wasn't a particularly pleasant thought though.

"Kudo was right, this Imazaki guy's a total nutcase."

Hakuba shrugged. "I am sure that goes without saying."

Stopping beside one of the glass and metal coffins, Kazuha looked down into the face of a girl who had to be about her own age. A shiver raced down her spine. The sleeping girl's face was pale and still but if she looked really closely she could see that her chest was rising and falling with the slow, even breaths of deep slumber. At least she was sure now that these people were alive. Still… The whole thing gave her Goosebumps.

"I think we should try waking them up," she said, bending over to run her hands along the metal rims of the coffin's lid. "We can't leave them like this."

Digging her fingers into the groove around the edges of the lid, she lifted it. A few moments later the lid slid to the floor with a clang and she leaned over the side of the coffin, reaching to shake the sleeper's shoulders. Or she tried to. Something cold had wrapped around the wrists of her hands. Startled, she looked down to see that the metal frame her hands had been resting on had formed into what looked roughly like handcuffs, trapping her.

"What in the world," Hattori started only to be cut off as the metal rim of the glass lid lying on the floor peeled itself away from said glass and rose into the air, twisting and writhing like a flying, headless serpent. Then it snapped in the middle and each half straightened itself out until they resembled javelins, each pointed at a teen detective.

X

So this was the woman Kaito had told him about. There was no mistaking those peculiar eyes with their slightly creepy glow (their paleness made the dark circles under them that much darker). Nor was there any mistaking the air of sadness that lingered around her. It was in the tired lines of her face and the way she carried herself like someone walking under a great burden. It made her look much older than the twenty some years her features suggested.

Kaito gestured for the woman to come inside, his trademark Poker Face firmly in place. "To what do we owe this pleasure, Ojou-san?"

"I came to give you something," she replied, stepping carefully across the threshold.

The thief tilted his head to one side, an eyebrow rising in the shadow of his hat brim. "And that something would be?"

She hesitated a moment, then reached inside her coat. Both thief and detective watched the hand intently, wary of any possible tricks. When the hand reemerged however it was closed into a fist, hiding its contents entirely from sight. So whatever she wanted to give them, it was small. When she unfurled her fingers and presented them with her palm they found themselves looking down at an unusually small hypodermic syringe. The liquid inside it shimmered a milky purple vaguely reminiscent of the color of a taro cake (or maybe he was just getting hungry. Nothing in a syringe should remind a person of food).

"This is the cure," she said quietly, the hesitance fading from her voice as her entire posture straightened. "I have already administered it to the subjects Hiko tested his new batch on and I am sure that it works. It's the only thing that will stop him now. However, this is all I have left, and I cannot say yet how permanent it is so caution would be advisable."

Shinichi traded startled looks with the magician. "You…found a cure?"

Sukino nodded slowly. "I…have been working on it for some time. Since—since I heard about the ones who…were having trouble." She looked away then, murmuring so quietly that she seemed to be talking to herself. "The professor would have wanted it. She never intended…" Her already quiet words faded into silence and she gave herself a visible shake as she pulled her thoughts back to the present.

It was Kaito who eventually picked up the syringe, gloved fingers lightly sliding across its surface as he examined it. "So you mean Imazaki really has recreated the original gas?"

Sukino nodded.

Shinichi traded glances with the magician before clearing his throat. "Sukino-san, I was told that Professor Hakuren had two assistants. We know Imazaki was one of them. Would I be correct in assuming that you were the other?"

The woman's gaze faltered a moment at the question. "I… Yes." A soft, almost inaudible sigh slipped into the air as she turned away from them. She stepped back out into the hall for a moment, glancing left and right to as though checking for eavesdroppers—although with the surveillance monitors right behind them it was a rather pointless endeavor. A sign of nerves perhaps? "Is it wrong," she continued so quietly she seemed to be speaking to herself, the question sounding almost wistful, "to want to be important? To want to be remembered?"

Shinichi watched the back of the woman's head, wondering what her expression would be if he could see it. The sorrow that had been in her voice from the beginning was still there, but there was also a hint of something fiercer—something that burned like longing or despair. "Not in itself, no, but when you start hurting others to get there then you've gone too far."

There was a moment of silence as the woman gathered herself before she moved back into the surveillance room. "I didn't know this was how it was all going to turn out. It was supposed to be something amazing—an evolution and a great scientific discovery."

"Which you unleashed on my audience without their permission," KID commented dryly.

"I did not realize at the time to full extent of the repercussions our experiment could cause," the woman said again. The words sounded worn as though they had been used too many times already. "When I did, I began my own research into a countermeasure, but… I had to stay close to Hiko—to our research and the equipment. And with him bringing people in I was better able to study the exact effects of the original chemicals. Of course I have not been able to reverse it for any but the most recent subjects yet, as they are mostly elsewhere, but with your and the city's help I am sure that eventually everyone who needs it can be cured."

"Wait," Shinichi started, shoulders tensing abruptly. "Are you saying there are a lot more people here?"

The woman nodded again, her gaze flickering to the wall of monitors behind them. The two teens followed the look. Satou and Takagi were still out cold in their corridor. As far as they could see most of the building was empty. The only other signs of life were in a set of monitors showing what appeared to be some kind of basement. Shinichi zeroed in immediately on the forms of their three companions and what appeared to be almost two dozen people lying in strange, metal and glass containers. The three teenagers seemed to be discussing what to do next. Well, it didn't look like they were in any trouble. The coffins were…disturbing, but the people inside them didn't appear to be in any immediate danger, and since they had already been found by the others there shouldn't be anything to worry about. He was confident that their friends could handle themselves and figure out what they could do.

He was a great deal more concerned about the fact that he couldn't see Imazaki Hiko on any of the many screens. He looked them over three times each to be sure but every search came up with the same result. _The man wasn't there_.

"Is there anywhere in this building that can't be seen by any of these cameras?" he asked, turning back to the clairvoyant.

The woman smiled faintly, although there was no humor in the expression. "You don't have to worry about that. He's here. There is a room at the building's heart from which all the equipment can be controlled. He and I are the only ones who know the way. I can guide you."

The detective's eyes narrowed slightly as his frown deepened. "Why are you going to all this trouble? If you want to stop him, why are you giving us this 'cure'? Why didn't you give it to him yourself? With your abilities, it can't have been too hard for you to slip it to him."

She looked away, the corners of her mouth pinching tighter as she shifted her weight to her other foot. "I…did not wish to make a mistake," she said vaguely. "We should go," she continued, voice growing stronger. Turning, she started out into the hall, pausing only to check that they were indeed following her. "He will check in on his subjects when he finishes with the new final batch before he sends it to the holding areas. Finding that their conditions have reverted will raise his suspicions."

X

The levitating metal javelins smashed against the floor hard enough to embed themselves halfway into the ground. Rolling to his feet, Hattori glanced around wildly, his heart pounding with an abrupt rush of adrenaline. A metallic scraping sound however announced tat the javelins were pulling themselves back out of the floor.

"You are not allowed to be here" a hollow voice intoned from the direction of the stairs. "No one is allowed to be here without the Master's permission."

All three teens turned to search the shadows by the stairs. It took a moment to locate the source of the voice, but it wasn't only because of the poor lighting. No, what really made it difficult was that the source turned out to be a person whose entire body—hair, skin, eyes, and even clothes—was a dark, grayish color that blended into the eerie gloom of the hall in the perfect camouflage. If it wasn't for the fact that the woman—or at least it looked like a woman, it was difficult to be sure when they could barely make anything out that there was even someone there—hadn't moved, stepping forward and closer to the miasmic glow of the lamps. The faint light added a gray sheen to her skin that made it look like lead—or metal.

"Leave or face the consequences," the metal woman declared as the javelins began to circle them like sharks.

Hattori couldn't help bu wonder if she realized she was standing between them and the exit. That was the problem with these entranced people. They could follow orders, but they lacked real judgment. The problem was that that didn't help at all when the person in question was offering you a choice between getting out and getting skewered while blocking off the exit.

"Watch out!" Hakuba twisted to avoid one javelin's second launch but this time he was prepared and he grabbed its other end. Bracing his feet, he swung it at the other javelin, knocking it out of the air. But before any of them could celebrate the metal in his hands jerked and twisted. When the blonde didn't let go, it began to rise. Brown eyes widened as his feet actually left the ground. Hattori made a grab for him but was knocked off his feet as the javelin on the ground suddenly spun itself into the back of his knees. He let out a yell that was half surprised and half pained as he fell and flames leapt to life around him, clawing at his metallic assailant.

Overhead the other javelin was nearing the ceiling. It had risen too high too fast for its unwitting passenger to jump ship. But if he hung on much longer he was going to break fingers when the thing hit the ceiling. His other option, however, was a fifteen foot drop. And even if he did manage to continue hanging onto his precarious ride, he had the niggling suspicion that the thing's next move would likely be to go into a nose dive.

"Hakuba-san! Just let go!"

Even without the encouragement, the blonde thought, he would probably have chosen the same. He'd rather take his chances with the drop than risk getting dashed into either the ceiling or the floor. He just hoped that if he broke something on the way down it wouldn't be something too important. Instead of gaining speed as he plummeted back to earth, however, he could feel his secent slowing. It was almost as though he was sinking into an almost insubstantial cushion. But no, it was moving—rushing fast, smooth, and flat like a disc in a CD player, spinning and spinning below and around him, buoying him up. While it couldn't seem to actually lift him higher, it went a long way in slowing his fall. Opening his eyes, he looked down.

Kazuha was still trapped kneeling beside the open coffin. The girl had her eyes closed as her brows furrowed tight with concentration. However the fingers of her trapped hands were tracing circles in the air.

He would have to thank her later, but for now he turned his attention back to where the odd, metal lady seemed to have decided to focus on Hattori.

The first metal javelin had drawn back from the flames around the Osakan detective like a wary animal. The second javelin had joined it now that it had shaken off its hanger on. What worried the blonde however was that the flickering firelight was casting flecks of gold dancing through the gloom of the chamber. Of course, flames being what they were, it was only natural that the lights would dance. But the movement he was seeing wasn't entirely due to the natural flicker of firelight. It almost seemed as though the forest of metal pipes were moving too. Alarmed, he focused on the pipe nearest him. It was like watching a videa of a melting candle in fast forward. The sides of the pipe were sloughing down, forming into beads that pulled away from the now visibly thinner pipe to hover like a flock of shiny, spherical hummingbirds. They were drawing closer, beginning to circle like the javelins. Like vultures, the blonde thought.

Hakuba's feet touched the ground.

It was like he'd stepped on a landmine.

Everything exploded into motion.

The spheres elongated and sharpened into spearheads as they hurled themselves forward, cutting crisscrossing patterns through the air, led by the javelins. Hakuba flattened himself against the ground then had to roll hurriedly behind a coffin chased by a series of loud clangs as five spearheads collided with the floor where he had been. Kazuha screamed as another projectile cut a crimson streak across the skin of her forearms. She had thrown herself as close to the ground as she could but with her hands still trapped there was only so far she could get. Blood trickled down the sides of her arms in thin, dark threads.

"Kazuha! Hakuba!"

Fire roared, snatching at the flying debris in an angry, desperate attempt to drag them down and devour them. Sparks splashed across the floor and over glass lids as the once cool air in the chamber warmed rapidly. The metal spearheads and javelins, however, had tested the flames and deemed them harmless. They flew right into the dancing yellow tongues and out again as they hunted for their prey.

Only now the metal shards were glowing orange with heat. Some of them even trailed long tails of flame as they flew.

"Heiji, stop!" Kazuha cried out. "You're making it worse!"

Not, the Osakan detective thought with chagrin, that he couldn't see that for himself. However, he could also see that the projectiles were moving slower now and growing less accurate.

The woman had to be able to see them, he thought, mind racing. The flames weren't solid but their constant movement and brightness was making it harder for her to see both them and her weapons.

Concentrating as hard as he could, he called up a wall of flames around the woman. It leapt to life much more vigorously than he had intended and began to lick across the wall by the stairs and lap at the floors, but while a little voice in the back of his mind cringed at that he shoved it to the back of his mind for later.

A burning javelin lanced through the air at his chest and he dove behind the coffin Kazuha still knelt beside. Instead the javelin shattered one of the lamps which began to spew sparks wildly in every direction.

"Are you all right?" Kazuha asked anxiously, scanning him with her eyes.

He nodded a little jerkily. "You're the one who's hurt…"

"It's just a scratch," she assured him, drawing a slightly strained smile onto her face. "I'm just wish I could get my hands out of her. Then I might be able to do more."

"You saved me from some very painful broken bones," Hakuba's voice commented and they both glanced around to see that he had joined them in their hiding place. "Possibly worse. Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"The question now is what we are going to do next. It may not be long before she decides to come search for us. Or gets a lucky shot."

They all fell silent, thoughts racing. Shifting his weight in an attempt to alleviate the strain on legs that were beginning to cramp, Hattori's shoe bumped into something and he glanced down to see what was left of the coffin lid they had set on the ground earlier lying right beside them. Reaching down and gripping the edges of the glass slab, he tested its weight. It wasn't what you would call light, but it should be manageable.

"I've got an idea but I'll need your help," he said, glancing at Hakuba. To his surprise the blonde only nodded.

"What do you need?"

"I'm gonna try to knock her out with this." The Osakan gestured at the glass. "But I need to get close to do that."

"You need a distraction," the blonde surmised.

Heiji nodded. "Yeah. Think you can help?"

"I'll try." Hakuba glanced up at the projectiles still whirling over their heads then shifted and began to crawl towards the other side of the room, using the coffin containers for cover. The other two waited in tense silence as he disappeared from view. Hattori closed his fingers over the smooth edges of the glass, searching for a better grip.

"Hey! You!" a shout rang out through the chamber as a head of blond hair appeared near the far wall. "If you want us to leave, you should put down your weapons! How can you expect us to do as you ask when you don't give us the time to act?"

"You are trespassing," the woman replied, tone robotically detached. "You were never supposed to be here. You must be removed."

Hattori stopped listening as soon as he saw the woman's head turn. Standing, he heaved the glass slab up over his head and bolted. He ran forward, not so much carrying the glass as being towed ahead by its shifting weight as it tried to fall forward. Heat splashed over him, clawing at his skin where it wasn't covered by cloth and he gritted his teeth. No time to think about that. Besides, he'd already lost control of his makeshift weapon. Now he was really only along for the ride.

He was only two steps away from the woman when she must have sensed his presence or heard his footsteps for she turned, gray eyes meeting his. But it was already too late for her to run.

The glass connected with the woman's head with a resounding clang that proved the metallic sheen of her body was more than just a change of color and shattered. Shards fell in glittering pieces as the woman herself crumpled to the floor.

In the same moment all the floating projectiles she had been controlling began falling in a deadly rain of heated metal. Smoke and flames rose from the places they touched and began to spread. The area around the stairs was already ablaze and smoke was thickening the gloom.

Cursing, Heiji swept the sweat gathering on his forehead off with the back of his hand and turned to his companions. "We have to wake everyone up and get them out of here!"

X

Sukino came to a stop before a rather shoddily made plywood door. It was fairly obviously a new addition to the building. She hesitated a moment, her gaze taking on a strangely glazed quality before she tensed.

"I…think he may suspect we are coming."

"No point giving him more time to prepare then," Kaito replied. He did a quick review of his inventory as Shinichi double checked that his watch was loaded. They shared a look, nodded, and moved forward.

They burst into a room entirely obscured by white and blue smoke. Shinichi held his breath instinctively, taking a quick step to the side as a loud crack broke the air into pieces. He stiffened, every nerve on high alert. Gunfire? Sukino let out a cry of pain. Somewhere, glass shattered. Something in the swirling blankness was hissing loudly. Was that the sound of footsteps?

He listened hard, squinting through the thinning smoke.

"Sukino-san!" he called urgently when the smoke dissipated enough for him to deem it safe. "Are you all right?"

"It—it's just my leg," her voice responded and he found her shadow on the floor in the doorway.

"He's gone," Kaito interjected, scanning the bizarre shapes of lab equipment emerging from behind their screen of smoke.

"There is another door over there." The clairvoyant pointed, then winced.

"Stay here," Shinichi told her before he and Kaito headed for said door. They found themselves standing in a narrow stairwell. The echo of running steps was bouncing down from above.

Shinichi frowned even as he started after the sound. "Why would he go up? Where could he go?"

"The outermost edge of the stained glass dome over the museum's central courtyard is actually a set of walkways," the thief explained. "The original designers had plans for rooftop greenhouses but they suspended the project because the construction of the rest of the museum took longer than planned and they wanted to open on schedule."

"So he's trying to get to another building," Shinichi concluded, pushing himself to run faster.

They reached the top floor landing just in time to see the door banging shut. Shinichi lunged for it and pulled it open. Beyond lay what had probably once been some kind of amphitheater. Long rows of seats spanned the width of the floor—or would have if it didn't look as though all the metal in those seats had been removed, leaving them mostly a mess of cushions falling this way and that in listless heaps. An enormous screen occupied the entirety of the front wall. The rear wall sported a row of large windows. A single figure was making its way quickly towards the last wall and the single door that decorated its otherwise plain face. The sign beside the door depicted the zigzag of a staircase and an upward arrow.

Shinichi slapped a hand to his belt rather than attempt to run across the room. An instant later a soccer ball smashed into the door, jerking the handle out of the hypnotist's hand and slamming it shut. The man let out an involuntary curse and made another grab for it only to find that he couldn't. His hand crashed painfully into an invisible barrier before it could reach the handle. He froze for a moment before letting his hand fall to his side, no longer making any attempt to escape.

With no more need to run, the detective and the thief walked to stand in front of Kaito's force field.

"You've lost your game, Hypnotist-san," Shinichi stated, eyes fixed on the man's chin (he had to remind himself not to look the man in the eyes).

There was a long moment of tense silence. Then the man's posture relaxed.

"Indeed," he agreed, tone surprisingly amiable. "But I wouldn't call it a complete loss."

Shinichi couldn't help but stare at the man. Somehow, he'd expected…well, something _more_. Anger? Regret? Resignation? "Aren't you…disappointed?"

"Why should I be disappointed? Now I know this is how far it could go. It was a gamble from the very beginning. What could I become? What would the rest of you become? Who would play my game and who would not? Truth be told, I never thought I would get this far. But you see, in the end, no matter the outcome, this—these times and this game—will be remembered for ages to come."

The magician gave Imazaki a deceptively friendly smile from under the brim of his hat. "You know, I don't generally approve of violence, but I think for you I'll make an exception."

And, Shinichi reflected, it was probably no real surprise that someone who could walk around on his hands all day had a mean right hook.

"You, _Sir_, really need to get a life," Kaito concluded, dusting imaginary dirt off of his gloved hands. Snapping his fingers, he produced the hypodermic syringe full of its milky purple liquid and tossed it to Shinichi. "I assume you know where best to stick this?"

The magician crouched down and picked up one of the now unconscious man's hands. Pushing the sleeve up as far as it would go, he held the limb still as Shinichi searched for a suitable vein.

"We're going to have to carry him all the way back downstairs," Shinichi sighed, looking down at the man as he handed the now empty hypodermic back to Kaito who promptly made it disappear. The guy was thin but not short. And they were on the sixth floor.

"We can always shove him out the window," the thief said.

Shinichi stared at him blankly. Had he heard what he thought he'd heard? "We're on the sixth floor."

"I'll make a slide," the magician elaborated, lips quirking in amusement. "Much as I dislike the man, I think smashing his head into the concrete from six floors up would be a little extreme."

"Glad to hear it."

A sound by the door made them both tense as they turned in unison towards it. They relaxed however when they recognized Sukino. She had apparently managed to treat her leg injury at least well enough for the time being to have followed them up the stairs but her face was unhealthily pale and her breaths short and strained.

"The—there is a fire," the woman gasped, pausing at the threshold and clutching at the amphitheater's doorframe to keep herself on her feet. "The building is burning. We all have to leave."

"Takagi-keiji and Satou-keiji!" Shinichi exclaimed, grabbing the magician's sleeve. "They're still unconscious! So is the tree manipulator. They won't be able to get out without help!"

Kaito nodded. Grabbing the back of Imazaki's collar, he dragged the unconscious man to one of the windows at the back of the room, opened it, and casually tossed the limp and unresisting figure out like he was disposing of a bag of garbage. Then he turned to Sukino and waved her towards the window.

"You may wish to follow him, Ojou-san. We can't help the others if we have to worry about you too. Just think about it like going down a really long playground slide."

**TBC**

* * *

><p><strong>A.N<strong>: That didn't turn out quite the way I expected but I guess things rarely do. Anyhow, an early happy Thanksgiving to everyone. ^_^


	39. Racing Fire

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

* * *

><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

39: Racing Fire

It was the panic that woke her. It crashed into her senses like a tidal wave smashing into shore, jolting her out of the hazy darkness that had suffused her mind. She sat up and clutched her head, letting out a stifled groan of pain. She had never felt anything like this before. For a few moments it was actually hard to breathe—like being crushed under an immense weight. But as the initial shock passed the feeling faded to something a bit more bearable—a distant chorus of voices that she could ignore if she focused on her own racing heart.

She stayed still for several moments, just breathing. With each breath she felt more like herself.

Cracking open her eyes, she glanced around. Where in the world was she? It looked like a rather dark hallway somewhere. How had she gotten here? She couldn't remember. In fact, the last thing she remembered was being in a car with Takagi… Straightening, she looked around again. Takagi! Had he—there! There was a form slumped against the wall only an arm's reach away from her. She recognized it immediately despite the gloom.

"Takagi-kun!" she called, shifting onto her knees and shuffling quickly to kneel beside him. Hurriedly she examined him for signs of injury. He had a rather large bump on the head but otherwise he seemed unharmed. She shook him gently, mindful of the lump and called his name again.

Takagi let out an almost inaudible groan and opened his eyes. Satou could see the same confusion in his face that must have been on her own when she'd first woken. Then his gaze landed on her and he blinked slowly.

"Sa—Satou-san?"

"It's me," she answered, relieved. "How are you feeling?"

He straightened slowly, wincing a little before a hand rose to touch the bump on his head. "I think something hit me…"

Satou blinked then let out a snort of laughter. "That's kind of obvious. But does anything else hurt?"

"I—I don't think so…" He paused, then turned quickly to her—and had to shut his eyes a moment to fight off the throb of pain that caused. "What about you? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," she assured him, a soft smile making its way onto her face despite the situation.

Takagi let out a sigh of relief. "That's good. Um, what happened?"

"I wish I knew," she sighed. Odd, it almost seemed as though she could smell smoke. "I have no idea how we even got here. But I think there'll be time to figure that out after we get out of here and back to the station. Can you stand?"

"I Think so."

Satou helped him to his feet then stepped back and watched carefully as he walked around in a small circle. His steps grew rapidly more steady. It seemed he would be okay. Eventually he came to a stop before her. He was about to open his mouth and tell her he was ready to go when he spotted something over her shoulder and froze.

"Ku—Kudo-kun?" he gasped in confusion. "What are you doing here? What's going on? And is that _Kaitou KID_?"

"The one and only," the thief replied with a cocky grin as he swept into a deep bow. "It is a pleasure to see you two again. I take it you are feeling more like yourselves now?"

Satou traded bewildered looks with her fellow police officer. "What…?"

"Never mind that, we'll explain later," Shinichi said quickly, the urgent note in his voice instantly putting both policemen on high alert. "The building's on fire and there are still people we have to evacuate."

Well, that at least explained the slowly thickening smell of smoke she had thought was her disoriented imagination playing tricks on her. "How can we help?"

X

"This is a most uncivilized method," Hakuba muttered under his breath as he shifted the lid off another coffin and pulled the sleeping man inside it up by the collar before giving him a sharp smack across the face.

At the next coffin over, Hattori rolled his eyes as he mirrored the blonde's actions. "If you have better ideas, I'm listening. But we don't have a lot of time and you know as well as I do that we haven't found any other ways yet."

Kazuha did her best to tune them out as she turned her own attention to the metal still trapping her hands. In the background she could hear the gradually growing murmur of confused and frightened voices. The two teen detectives could deal with them for now. Her job was to get herself out of this predicament so that she could actually help. The last thing any of them needed was to have to figure out how to haul this coffin with them as they tried to find a way out.

The bands of metal around her wrists were smooth and seamless like they'd been grown that way, but while they were small enough to prevent her from getting out of them easily the circles of metal didn't lie flat against her skin. There was definitely wiggle room there that she could use. Relaxing her hands, she tugged, trying to imagine that her bones were made of rubber. It was like trying to remove a small bracelet of the un-jointed variety. Twisting, pulling, and wiggling her hands, she felt triumph flutter up in her chest as her right hand just barely managed to squeeze out of its prison. But the feeling faded when no amount of contorting her hand managed to free the other. A frustrated noise escaped her throat and she tugged harder. She was so close!

Gritting her teeth, she braced her nerves, drew in a deep breath, and yanked as hard as she could. She fell backward as her hand finally wrenched free, but any joy at that was eclipsed by the pain racing up her arm.

"Kazuha!" Familiar hands helped her up and grabbed her hand. She could see now that her choice of action had actually taken the skin off the back of her knuckles. Looking at it just made the pain worse though so she tore her gaze away to focus instead of Heiji's horrified grimace. "Why the hell did you do that?"

"Because I didn't want to stay here, duh," she replied, forcing a laugh. "Now come on, we don't really have time to waste."

"If you don't at least wrap that up, you could find yourself with a lot more in the way of problems later," said one of the newly awakened, stepping towards them, beginning to tear the sleeves off his sweatshirt then reducing them to long, thin strips. "It's too hot in here anyway. You can use these. Not as good as bandages but better than nothing."

"Thank you."

By now everyone in the chamber had been poked, prodded, and otherwise forced back into the land of the waking and were now milling around like frightened sheep near the back of the chamber away from the creeping flames. Thankfully most of the smoke was rising up the stairwell behind that flickering wall but several people were beginning to cough. Hakuba had instructed them all to try and stay closer to the floor as they looked for any alternative exits.

Having left the rest to search the room, Hattori approached the flames, frowning at them. He could feel the heat rolling off them in waves. Still, he had to wonder… Cautiously, he reached a hand out to the nearest dancing tongues then jerked it back with a yelp of pain.

"Heiji!" Kazuha exclaimed, coming up beside him with her eyes flashing. "_What_ are you doing?"

"I was just wondering if maybe I'd be able to get through, but I guess being able to call up this stuff doesn't mean I can't be burned." He offered her a sheepish smile which she returned with an incredulous and disapproving one.

"And you decided to test this by sticking your hand into the fire?"

"I'm sorry, I just thought—you know, if I _could_ get through I might be able to find a fire extinguisher or something," he stammered.

"I doubt a fire extinguisher is going to help us," Hakuba commented dryly. "Fortunately, we appear to have found an elevator. Unfortunately, it is mostly blocked off."

Hattori gave the flames one last, baleful look before turning to his fellow detective. "Better than nothing."

The elevator in question was situated behind four metal pipes, their vertical contours and shadows providing a kind of camouflage for the elevator doors. The woman who had first found the elevator had squeezed her hand between one pipe and the wall to find the call button and everyone was now waiting anxiously to see if the contraption was still in order.

Several tense minutes passed in which all anyone could hear was the increasing crackle and snap of the approaching flames and the labored breathing of their companions interspersed with the occasional spate of coughing. When the clear, sharp 'ding' announcing the elevator's arrival sounded the entire group burst into ragged cheers. It seemed luck was with them, for as the doors slid open they could see that this particular elevator was much larger than normal. It had probably been designed to be able to carry exhibit materials and machinery easily between floors.

"All right, we better hurry," Hakuba declared, directing people forward. "You two at the front, see if you can get in and hold the doors. Everyone else, form two lines. You might have to turn sideways to get between the pipes."

As each new person squeezed between the pipes and into the elevator, he or she moved to the back and packed themselves together to try and make as much room as possible for those going in after them. Behind them the flames were closing in.

Standing off to one side, Kazuha drew in a breath to calm her nerves, then began to make slow, careful gestures with her hands. If she was careful, she could keep the smokier air at bay and bring the cleaner air to them.

"Is everyone going to fit?" one man near the back whispered a little too loudly not to be heard.

"I hope so," Hakuba replied dryly, casting another look at the flames. "Because I do not believe we will be able to make a second trip."

Relief swept through everyone present when Hattori, the last of the group, squeezed between the pipes and just barely managed to get his toes over the threshold. The two people who had been holding the doors let them go and they all watched with nervous hope as the flames disappeared from sight. Praying that they weren't too far over the weight limit, Hakuba pressed the button for the ground floor. Kazuha hoped fervently that the ominous creak that reached her ears as the elevator began to rise was only her imagination.

The sense of relief inside the elevator, however, met a sudden and untimely demise as the doors finally slid open only to reveal a rough but very solid wall.

X

"Just keep going up the stairs until you reach the sixth floor," KID instructed, pointing down the hall in the direction of the stairs. "There will be an open window at the back with an invisible slide attached to it. Take that and it will take you down to ground level. There should be a man and a woman there that you should keep an eye on."

Satou nodded, then she and Takagi—along with the sleeping tree manipulator they had found still snoring in the surveillance room whom they had volunteered to transport—set off at a fast walk. The thief watched them go, waiting until he was sure they were going the right way before returning to the surveillance room where Shinichi was trying to coax the monitors back to showing them something useful. For some reason all the screens that had been showing that bizarre room of coffins they had seen earlier had apparently gone dead. Yet they couldn't see Hattori, Hakuba, or Kazuha on any of the other screens. Several of the first floor monitors, however, were showing flickering, orange lights that could only be fire. The rest were hazy and growing hazier by the second with smoke.

"Wait, over there," Kaito said, leaning over Shinichi's shoulder and pointing to one of the glowing screens. The elevator doors had been completely blocked off by a bank of whirring machinery, but they could still see the light above where the doors should be as it lit up to announce the arrival of said elevator.

Shinichi's eyes narrowed and he turned to scan the rest of the monitors for the elevators on the other floors. Like the one on the first, almost all of them had been blocked off. If Hattori and the others were in there and if the fire had started in the basement…

"Is there a way to broadcast messages from here?" he asked, glancing up at his companion. If anyone would know, Kaito would. He had, after all, conducted a heist here.

"There should be," the magician replied, beginning to flip switches and open and close panels Shinichi hadn't noticed earlier when he'd been preoccupied with searching the screens. "The question is, is there enough of the system left after the way they've gutted this place to do their redecorating for us to use it."

"It doesn't look like they touched the elevators. We just need to be able to speak to them."

"Right. Just give me a moment."

X

The crackle of the overhead speakers broke through the rising panic in the elevator as several people pushed at the wall and found it to be unyielding.

"Hattori, Hakuba-san, Toyama-san, can you hear me?" a familiar voice asked.

Hattori glanced up towards the speakers. "Kudo?"

"These things don't work both ways Tantei-kun," a different voice remarked then, sounding a little farther away but also clear. "We just have to trust that they _can_ hear us and go on from there."

"Damn, you're right. All right, listen you guys, almost all the elevator doors have been blocked off by Imazaki's renovations, but if you go up to the second floor you should be able to climb out over the equipment that's in the way. There's about an arm's length of space there between the blockage and the top of the door."

Hakuba pressed the two on the button panel as the people who'd been trying to dislodge their obstacle stepped back and let the doors close once more. No one spoke as the elevator once more began to rise. Several people must have been holding their breaths for when the doors opened again, this time to reveal the promised escape, their sighs of relief merged into one much louder swish of expelled air. Once again, two people set themselves to holding the doors open as their companions began to climb out. The first to climb out helped pull the rest up and over the barricade. Hattori remained inside of the elevator to help give the shorter of their party a boost, trying not to think about how the floor beneath them was growing noticeably warmer.

"Everyone, hurry!" Kazuha called down through the opening. She could see sparks beginning to pop and flash from the corners of the elevator room. A moment later Heiji had climbed up beside her and jammed his shoe into the upper corner of the doorframe, preventing the doors from closing as Hakuba and the other man who'd been holding the doors climbed out.

X

Shinichi waited just long enough to see that the elevator doors did indeed open on the second floor before heading for the hall. "We have to go find them. This floor is like a maze and I'm sure we know the way better than they do."

"Better run or we'll miss them then."

They reached the elevators just in time to see them close on a chamber glowing with firelight and heat.

"All right, listen up everyone," Kaito called, projecting his voice over the mutterings of the group and the ominous creaking coming from behind the elevator doors. "Unfortunately, the first floor is already off limits. Therefore we need to head up to the sixth. I created a slide there that will take you to safety. Just follow us. The stairs are this way."

Everything was unfolding just as they'd hoped—until they found the stairs. It seemed the flames had climbed the stairs faster than they had been able to reach them. Considering the fire had started at the foot of them, perhaps they should have expected that, but that realization didn't make any of them feel better. The relieved determination that had settled over the party melted abruptly back into panic.

Hattori cursed vehemently. "What're we gonna do now?!"

Several arguments immediately broke out amidst the group. Some people wanted to go back and try the elevator again, see if they could break through on a different floor, others wanted to look for air vents, most people had no idea what they wanted, and everyone was scared.

"Maybe I could just box us all up and we can wait out the fire right here," KID mused, glancing at Shinichi. "But it would be risky. Chances are we'd run out of air before the fire burned itself out." He paused when he noticed the calculating look that had found its way onto his detective's face. "You have an idea."

"I do—but I don't know if it will work."

"Anything's worth trying at this point."

Shinichi flashed him a wry smile then closed his eyes. The thief waited a moment, expecting him to explain himself, but the detective made no indication that he was going to do so. He didn't even open his eyes again. Instead a small line of concentration appeared between his eyebrows.

For his part, Shinichi had turned all his attention to the flames. He could feel them making their way up the stairs and beginning to pour out through the doors from the landings and into the floors themselves. The building below them was already ablaze. The other side of the building where the elevator had been was also well on its way to cinder-hood. The flames had found some tanks of flammable gases over there and the distant explosions didn't sound far enough for anyone's comfort. He could sense their growing intensity. The white hot center of it all pulsed like a heartbeat. It was much more…solid than anything else he'd ever felt with these peculiar new senses of his, but it was still the same type of feeling. Taking a deep breath to brace himself, he reached in the way he would probably never be able to explain to anyone else, grabbed, and _pulled_.

Kaito started at the sudden drop in temperature, but what really made him stare was the way the bushel of flames he'd been watching just sort of faded away like they were the ghost of fire rather than the real thing. Turning back to the stairwell, he found that yes, those two were now empty of orange light. Slowly, his gaze traveled back to his detective—who hadn't moved at all.

"Shinichi—"

"Don't talk to me right now," the detective cut in, eyes still squeezed shut.

Kaito fell silent, taking in that strained expression, then turned an indigo glare on the crowd of gaping faces around them. "What are you all still standing around for? Go! Remember, it's the open window at the back of the sixth floor. Hurry!"

His words seemed to snap most of their audience out of their stupor. They began to herd themselves towards the newly unveiled stairs. The first step crumbled slightly under Hattori's foot but it held and he began to lead the way up. Hakuba brought up the rear, making sure that no one was left behind.

Kaito turned back to Shinichi. "Can you keep this up and walk?"

His detective made a half strangled noise in the back of his throat but didn't say anything. He was beginning to sweat.

"I'll take that as a no," the magician muttered, frowning. "All right, don't be surprised, I'm just going to pick you up."

Doing his best to move slowly and carefully so as not to jar or otherwise disturb Shinichi in any way, Kaito slid an arm behind the smaller boy's knees and back. He applied pressure lightly for a moment to warn Shinichi of what he was about to do before completing the motion. The detective twitched, face still scrunched up, but the flames did not return. With Shinichi cradled securely against his chest, Kaito started running up the stairs after the others.

A cacophony of footsteps echoed up and down the stairwell walls accompanied by the pounding of their own hearts. Running up four flights of stairs wasn't easy, especially not with a crowd. Some people in the group would have tired long before the end under normal circumstances, but right now even the least athletically inclined person was managing a fair amount of speed. Such was their collective sense of urgency that not a single person paused at the idea of propelling themselves out of the sixth floor window.

Something which Kaito was immensely grateful for because it saved him them trouble of having to push anyone out before he took his own leap onto the invisible pathway. He, however, didn't wait for gravity. Instead he ran all the way down the slide.

"We made it," he told Shinichi the moment his feet touched the ground.

And, with an abruptness that made everyone jump, the lower half of the building suddenly burst back into flames. Shinichi slumped against Kaito's chest, breathing hard and a shade too pale for the magician's liking. There was, however, one thing the thief still had to do before he could turn his attention to making sure Shinichi was okay.

Narrowing his eyes, Kaito concentrated, raising a force field around the burning building and preventing the hungrily flickering tongues of heat from reaching for the museum's other wings. They couldn't save the building, but at least now the fire would go out once it had consumed all the oxygen within the containment field.

**TBC**


	40. Aftermath

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

* * *

><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

40: Aftermath

"Kudo!" Hattori exclaimed as he, Hakuba, and Kazuha pushed their way through the crowd. "How the hell did you do that?"

Shinichi twitched at the too-loud voice and groaned, turning his face more firmly into Kaito's shoulder. His head was pounding like there was a team of Taiko drummers banging on the inside and every muscle in his body felt torn between melting and turning to lead. The magician had set him back on his feet, but now he was seriously wishing he hadn't despite the crowd surrounding them.

The detective was beginning to shiver, Kaito noted with concern. He tightened the arm he had wrapped around Shinichi and shot the approaching party a fierce glare that had them backing away.

Satisfied, he let his customary grin slide back onto his face. "Why don't we save the chitchat for later? I would recommend that one of you call Ran-san to see how the situation is on her end and whether or not the other teams have checked in."

"I'll do that," Kazuha volunteered, drawing her phone from her pocket and stepping aside for more privacy.

X

Shinichi didn't remember much of what had happened after that. He had drifted in and out of sleep for the rest of the day and all of the following two.

He heard later from Kaito about how the largely confused and kind of angry citizens of the city filtered back into their lives. No one was pleased to discover that they had mysteriously lost a few days and which they just couldn't remember but during which apparently parts of the city had been wrecked and any time sensitive projects or activities ruined and in need of redoing. The knowledge that the man responsible had been caught was only mildly mollifying. The families who had lost members however cheered up considerably when they discovered that they could now be reunited with their loved ones.

In the end it morphed into a contest of the good news and the bad. The bad news was that a lot of property belonging to a variety of people had been damaged or completely destroyed. There had been some injuries and some hopes that had been crushed when a small number of the missing persons were not found among the hypnotist's first victims. The good news was that the ordeal was over. None of the injuries were severe, and Sukino's cure offered a chance at healing for those who had suffered particularly difficult or unpleasant changes. The story of everything that had transpired had to be told again and again, passed from person to person to person as the bits and pieces they each had came together to be pieced into a picture everyone could understand. The process was long and confusing as people's memories didn't always agree but in the end the police and journalists put out a rather long documentation of the past few days' events and distributed them through newspaper stands for everyone who was still confused.

It was a mess, Ran thought, but a mess that was cleaning itself up. Opening the hospital room door, she peered inside. She was a little surprised when she didn't see Kaito in the room. He had shown up as soon as people started going home and was almost always watching over Shinichi as the detective slept. Other people trickled in and out of the room, and she thought she might even have caught a glimpse of KID once when the room had been otherwise deserted, though none of them really knew what had happened to the detective or what (if anything) they could do for him. At least his temperature had stopped fluctuating wildly like it had done on the first day.

Moving to the chair beside the bed, she sat down. "Hey Shinichi. I thought I'd come by and let you know that the owners of the hotels have decided not to press charges. They're not happy about the damage, but a lot of people have volunteered to help them rebuild." She stopped abruptly when Shinichi stirred.

"Ran-neechan…" he murmured drowsily before falling back to sleep. The brunette girl started then sighed, shaking her head, a faint, rueful smile climbing onto her face.

Something in her seemed to settle at the sound of that name though. It was a sense of understanding, she thought, that she had been searching for but hadn't quite been able to grasp until she heard it. So it seemed this really was what they had become. She'd been too caught up in thinking about how awkward it would be if Shinichi ever found out that she still occasionally thought about him as Conan (and yet she'd found she couldn't help it. She could still see traces of that guise in the detective), but it seemed she wasn't the only one. But maybe that was okay.

"Ah, Ran-san, good morning."

She jumped at the sound and whirled around in her seat to find Kaito standing behind her with an easy grin on his face. "Kaito-kun! I didn't hear you come in."

He waved away the exclamation with a laugh and dropped a bag she'd only just noticed he was carrying down on the bedside table. It smelled like takeout.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, beginning to unpack the assorted boxes in the bag.

"Oh, no, that's fine. I already ate.

"Well, the offer stands if you change your mind." Pulling a second chair up to the bed (close enough to the nightstand that he could use it as a table) the magician dug into his meal. Ran watched him for a moment, wondering if he was really going to eat all that food by himself. Since he was obviously occupied, she pulled the newspaper-like documentation that she'd picked up on her way up out of her bag and began to read. She'd been interviewed for it along with everyone else who had the remote chance of knowing anything at all but—like most of them—this was the first time she'd seen the whole story laid out. The next half hour or so passed in silence.

"Anything interesting in there?"

Ran sighed, shaking her head. "I can't believe this was just a game to that man."

The magician's indigo eyes darkened as he shrugged. "Maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. From what he told the police, it seems to me that perhaps what he really wanted was something else."

She looked up at him with raised eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"I'm just guessing here, but both he and that Sukino woman talked a lot about being remembered. Leaving a mark on history, so to speak. I was thinking when I read that," he gestured at the paper in her hands, "that the funny thing about games is that, no matter if you win or lose, you matter."

She stared at him, frowning. "I'm not sure I understand."

He shrugged again. "It was just a thought."

X

"Kai…?"

The magician looked up from the book he'd been reading to see blue eyes blinking groggily at him. A genuine smile broke out across his face and he vanished the book before leaning forward and grasping one of the detective's hands. "Hey Shin-chan, it's good to see you finally awake. I was starting to get really worried you know."

Those big blue eyes blinked again in apparent confusion. "…What happened?"

Scooting closer, Kaito propped his other elbow on the edge of the bed. This was going to be a long story. Quickly, he outlined the things that had happened, pausing now and then to answer Shinichi's questions. Not much had changed since the report had been put out except that some people had volunteered to test out the sure. It turned out Sukino's cure was only permanent for those who hadn't been affected for too long. Sakura, who'd been one of the first to ask for it, had found her symptoms coming back two days after she'd taken it.

"Sukino-san says the dosage can be adjusted to last longer, but it seems she's going to have to go in for a treatment every few months for the rest of her life if she wants to stay normal. That or learn how to control her abilities without Imazaki's help," he concluded. "Oh, and the police still want to interrogate—or rather interview—you. When you're ready, of course."

Shinichi nodded slowly. "And Hakuren-san?"

"They're still working on that one. Imazaki was the one who was in her house that night the neighbors saw light. That was when he took the rest of her research notes. Being her assistant, he and Sukino-san actually already had their own, but he didn't want to leave it there for someone else to find. As for how she actually died… They're leaning towards natural causes now, probably a heart attack or something of the sort."

"I see. So…it's over then," Shinichi murmured, tone almost wondering.

"Yeah. Hard to believe, huh? Although perhaps not entirely true. There's still all that stuff to put back together, Imazaki and his volunteers going to trial, and of course we've all still got these powers to play with. But of course none of that really has anything to do with us."

"It doesn't?" Shinichi asked, honestly surprised.

"Okay, the trials might, but really no one in their right mind could argue that they're innocent."

The detective sighed. "Unfortunately, that's never really stopped anyone before."

"More's the pity." Leaning down, Kaito brushed his lips gently over Shinichi's. "If it wouldn't start an unnecessary panic right now, I'd steal you away and find us a castle far away from all of this where no one would ever find us."

"…You're kidding, right?"

The magician chuckled, noting that—despite his incredulous tone—his detective was blushing. "Not entirely."

"Uh…am I interrupting something?"

Kaito shot an annoyed look at the door as Shinichi stiffened and turned bright red. "Yes," the magician snapped. A glance back at the hospital bed revealed that Shinichi had retreated under the covers. Nonplussed, the thief turned back to the Osakan detective in the doorway. "Well? What do you want?"

"Er, well, I just came to see how Kudo was doing. Seems he's doing just fine so I guess I'll come back some other time." That said he plastered a sheepish smile on his face and disappeared back into the hall, shutting the door maybe a little harder than necessary as he went.

"He left just like that?" Shinichi asked, mildly amazed as he peered over the top of the covers. Usually Hattori was rather hard to get rid of (not that he didn't like Hattori's company or anything. It was just that his friend had an annoying habit of showing up unannounced—often at inopportune times like when Shinichi had just gotten a new book he wanted to read—and dragging him off on some venture or other about which Shinichi himself had not been consulted. Come to think of it, a lot of his friends did that. He wondered if that said more about him or his friends).

Kaito opened his mouth to comment but he was interrupted by the sound of a loud rumble. The blush that had faded from Shinichi's face returned as they both realized it was the detective's stomach. Laughing, the magician stood.

"I'll go get us something to eat and let the doctors know you're up."

X

It was the last day of Shinichi's hospital stay when an unexpected face appeared in his room.

Kaito straightened in his seat by the bed, an unreadable mask dropping instantly over his face. Shinichi tensed as he realized that, with city life falling neatly back into place, there was nothing stopping anyone who'd found out about Kaito's secret from deciding it was time to try and arrest him. And while Shinichi was one hundred percent sure that nothing and no one could keep Kaito locked up, the thought that the thief might have to go into hiding made him feel ill. It wouldn't be fair, he thought a bit angrily, especially not after all the help he'd given them (not to mention he wouldn't have been found out at all if it hadn't been for that fluke with the shape shifter).

The blonde at the door took one step into the room and stopped. Brown eyes darted warily around the room as though expecting an ambush. Eventually they returned to the two occupants of the room who were still waiting for him to speak. Hakuba, however, didn't seem as though he knew where to start.

"Well?" Kaito drawled, tired of waiting for the blonde to finish whatever internal debate was preventing him from spitting out his purpose for visiting. Really, he had better things to do with his time. If Hakuba didn't know what he wanted to say he could leave and come back when he'd figured it out. "Do you actually have something important to say or do you really have nothing better to do than impersonating a statue in a hospital room?"

"No, I… My skills are not, as you suggested, insufficient," the blonde said by way of answer, his chin slightly raised and his jaw set in determination. "I do not need to rely on dumb luck to prove that you are who you are."

Declaration made, he spun abruptly on his heels and marched right back out of the room again. He did, however, pause for a moment to nod to Shinichi. "It's good to see that you are well." Then he was gone.

Shinichi blinked then glanced up at Kaito. "That was…"

"Unexpected?" Kaito suggested with a shrug. His expression grew thoughtful then. "I wonder if Aoko had a word with him."

"Did you talk with her yet?" Shinichi asked curiously.

"Yeah, yesterday morning. She told me she's decided not to be mad because she'd rather be happy after everything that's happened that everyone's okay. But she made me promise that she gets to pick two days each month on which I won't have heists." He laughed and shook his head. "I think she might have wanted to ask me to stop being KID altogether but she knows Nakamori-keibu would miss me too much if I quit."

"Would you have?"

"Would I have what?"

"Quit if she asked you to."

Indigo eyes turned to meet blue with a serious expression Shinichi had come to learn to pay attention to. "No, I can't. It might have started out as just picking up where Dad left off, but now… It's part of who I am. Besides, I still have to find Pandora. I mean, I had my doubts about something like that being possible before and all, but after all this I think it would be rather hypocritical of me to think that a jewel with supernatural powers couldn't exist."

"That's true."

"Does it bother you?"

The question caught Shinichi by surprise. Then again, he supposed maybe it wasn't entirely unexpected. It wasn't something they'd really talked about (perhaps because they would never have met if they hadn't each chosen to be what they were). While Shinichi had known Kaito's objectives for some time now, he realized that it had never crossed his mind to consider if catching his father's murderer meant that Kaito would stop being a thief. The idea of Kaito ever not being KID was…well, rather inconceivable. It was too much a part of the person he was just like how being a detective was too much a part of himself for him to even imagine ever not being one. He had the feeling that even if Kaito did stop stealing he would still be Kaitou KID.

Glancing up at Kaito's expectant face, he smiled. "No. I doubt we'd be here now if I did. Just…don't get caught, okay?"

Kaito drew himself up, that familiar, arrogant smirk stretching across his face. "It's me we're talking about here, Shin-chan. The great Kaitou KID does not get caught." Besides, he had too many things he wanted to do with his life to go wasting time on stupid things like getting caught, especially now. He finally had a treasure of his own and he wasn't going to let anyone or anything take him away.

"So are you ready to go home?" he asked, standing and offering Shinichi his hand.

The detective took it with a quiet laugh. "Definitely."

**TBC**

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><p><strong>A.N<strong>: Just a little bit more to go! ^_^ I kind of think I'm going to miss this. Ah well. See you next time!


	41. A New Dawn

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

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><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

41: A New Dawn

The auditorium was packed to the brim. Officials from various city functions as well as guests from outside of Tokyo mingled with policemen, news crews, businessmen, and even high school students. Everyone who had directly participated in the various confrontations with Imazaki and his men had been invited. Shinichi paused just inside the main entrance, scanning the faces of the people already there. Kaito was supposed to meet him here, but he didn't know if the magician had arrived yet or—there! Moving forward, Shinichi began to inch his way through the mass of people.

That was when he spotted a familiar figure on the other side of the room, talking to Mia Salinger.

He averted his eyes and picked up his pace, edging hurriedly around the crowded room at which point he sat himself down on Kaito's lap. The magician blinked a moment in surprise but he was more than happy to wrap his arms around the detective's waist and pull him closer.

Then he saw Mitsuki Soujiro and he understood.

After the Imazaki Hiko incident had cleared and everyone was back to themselves, the writer's enthusiasm for Shinichi's company had only multiplied. He had turned up at Teitan just to thank him in person for 'taking down the hypnotist' who'd been controlling him (waving away Shinichi's attempts to explain that it had been a group effort), and insisted on buying him dinner as a sign of gratitude. Then he'd bombarded Shinichi with—surprise, surprise—the idea of using the event in his and his sister's next novel. He wanted to know everything that had happened and didn't seem to understand that no, Shinichi was not interested in helping transform the whole fiasco into a novel, thank you very much.

It had gotten to the point where Shinichi was seriously starting to wonder if the guy was stalking him. He'd told Kaito about it, and he had the feeling that the magician must have said something to the author because now he tended to turn pale and try to back discreetly out of the area whenever he saw Kaito. That had left Shinichi wondering what in the world Kaito had said or done to the poor man. The respite, however, was welcome, so he couldn't really complain. He just hoped Kaito hadn't traumatized the man too badly.

What he didn't know was that Kaito had been well aware of Mitsuki's overly (in his opinion) enthusiastic behavior and had already been plotting a variety of devious ways to get rid of the man without attracting his detective's suspicions.

"So how did your talk with Ran-san go?" Kaito asked, warm breath tickling by Shinichi's ear and making the detective shiver.

"It went pretty well," he replied, thinking back to that morning. He had met up with Ran for brunch. They had decided they should eat together at least once every other week as they both made an attempt to acquaint themselves with who they were now. "Apparently Yamada-kun's brother just woke up yesterday. The treatment seems to be working pretty well for him."

"Really? That's good to hear."

"Yeah." He paused, then lowered his voice. "I…told her about us."

"You did?" The magician blinked in surprise. Shinichi hadn't mentioned deciding to spill the beans to Ran. Although that would explain why he'd looked so nervous that morning before he'd headed out to meet her. "And?"

"She didn't seem all that surprised."

"So she's not going to try to kill me for taking her precious little brother away?"

The detective snorted but the corners of his lips twitched upward. "No, she isn't."

Just then the lights in the auditorium dimmed and a spotlight beamed down at the podium at the front. The speeches lasted for a good few hours as speaker after speaker thanked assorted parties for their contributions in the city's time of crisis. There were recaps and awards and speculations about the future.

It wasn't the kind of thing Shinichi found particularly enthralling, but things needed to be said and it was just the kind of event to put the period at the end of the mayhem. He had been a bit afraid that Kaito would get bored and decide that a little diversion was in order, but the magician thief seemed to be deriving an unnatural amount of amusement from smoothing down the cowlick on the back of Shinichi's head and watching it spring right back into place each time. Why he found this so entertaining, the detective had no idea, but if it kept Kaito occupied then he wasn't going to say anything about it.

Later, as they followed the flow of the crowd back out into the afternoon light, Shinichi let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. And it seemed that a heavy weight lifted away with that breath to go drifting away on a passing breeze.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

Glancing up at Kaito, he smiled. "Just thinking how glad I am that everything's finally back to normal."

Of course, no sooner had the words left his mouth then someone farther down the street let out a yell and what looked like a giant, glass hand rose up in the air and smacked downward like it was swatting a fly. Another enraged yell broke through the air. An instant later Satou and Takagi went running by in the direction of the commotion, shouting a warning. Shinichi stared after them, wondering if he should follow. But from the sound of it someone had just lost their temper. The police could probably handle it themselves.

Beside him, Kaito burst out laughing. "Something tells me that that's about as normal as this city's ever going to be from now on."

X

The train station was a whirlwind of commotion like always—maybe a little more so than usual actually. The few days of being cut off from outside traffic meant that some people were suddenly very busy trying to catch up with things they should have done before. A lot of travelers had been delayed and business trips interrupted.

"Guess we'll be leaving then," Hattori said, glancing back at the train just pulling in to the platform. It was the one that would be taking him and Kazuha back to Osaka. "You guys should come visit some time."

"Yeah, we can show you around," Kazuha added, her attention directed mainly towards Shinichi, Kaito, Aoko, and Hakuba (whom she presumed had not been to Osaka before. Little did she know Shinichi at least had already received the grand tour from both her and Heiji before). Then she turned to Ran, giving her a hug. "Don't forget to call."

"Hopefully our folks aren't going to ground us for life when we get back," Hattori added. "Well, we better get going."

Farewells were exchanged before the two Osakans ran to get on their train before it left without them. The train doors slid shut mere moments after they'd boarded.

Kazuha let out a sigh as she slid into a seat by the window, turning to look outside as the train pulled out of the station. "I'm glad we're finally going home."

Heiji laughed, tugging at the brim of his baseball cap as he watched Kazuha's smile reflected in the surface of the train window. "Yeah, me too."

X

Hakuba looked up from the bag of pigeon feed he was distributing amongst the park pigeons when someone sat down beside him. "Good morning."

"Good morning," Aoko replied, smiling. Taking a large handful of the pigeon feed from his bag, she set about doling it out as well. "Hear anything interesting?"

"No," he admitted. "But it can't hurt to keep listening. How's your father?"

"He's still really upset about the whole being controlled thing, but otherwise he's great. We're going out to dinner together tonight. I…was wondering if you'd like to come with us."

"I would be honored."

She beamed at him and decided not to mention that she'd finally told her dad that she was seeing someone that morning. She was fairly sure he would be calm enough by dinnertime to be civil.

X

Shinichi stared at the front of the newspaper, his morning coffee held in one hand. He read it over again just to be sure he wasn't seeing things. Nope, he wasn't. When someone sat down in the chair across from him, he didn't have to look to know that it was Kaito (and it wasn't just because Kaito was the only person he knew who'd let himself in just like that).

"Good morning. I guess now I know what you've been up to this last week." He'd wondered, considering he had barely seen Kaito at all during that time. And, well…he had missed the magician's company (not that he'd admit it. After all, it was only _one_ week. That was a ridiculously short amount of time in which to start _missing_ someone). "Rather short notice though, don't you think?"

"Yeah, well, I didn't want to wait. It'll be the first one since the Imazaki fiasco so I thought I'd set up something extra special. I may have to spend the next week or so here though. I hope you don't mind."

"I don't mind." To be honest, part of him was absurdly happy to hear it (but he didn't particularly want to admit that either. Still, he had the feeling Kaito knew from the look of that grin he'd just flashed him. Then again, he should really expect that. The thief did, after all, make a hobby out of reading people—not only so he could impersonate them but also so he could plan how best to make them tick). "But why?"

"Well~, let's just say I'm not sure how Aoko's going to take what I have planned for her dad and her boyfriend."

"And yet you're going to do it anyway."

"Of course. No point wasting good ideas just because some people won't appreciate them," he reasoned, sounding entirely too reasonable.

"It just seems kind of unwise to go out of your way to irritate someone who regularly tries to decapitate you by mop," Shinichi countered, getting up to refill his coffee mug.

The magician only laughed. "It's a good exercise. Did you just finish off the _whole pot_ over there?" he added incredulously. "Don't tell me that that coffee's the only thing you've had for breakfast."

"It wasn't," Shinichi said a touch defensively as he returned to his seat, coffee clutched protectively to him. "I had a piece of toast,"

There was a moment of silence.

"That's it? A piece of toast and a pot of coffee is not a meal Shin-chan. And here I thought you were starting to get the hang of it. Come on." Bounding out of his chair, Kaito rounded the table in the blink of an eye and scooped Shinichi right up out of his chair and into the magician's arms. "We're going to get some real food."

"Kaito!" Shinichi squawked in protest, just barely managing not to spill what was left of his coffee down his front. "Put me down!"

X

The target of the night's heist was a ruby pendant belonging to a businessman who'd built himself a magnificent mansion which would soon be the location of KID's latest show. Standing on an upper balcony of one of the neighboring buildings, Shinichi couldn't help but gape at the sheer number of people gathered in the area below. He'd wondered if what had happened at the museum might discourage people from attending KID's future heists but that was clearly not the case.

"It looks like half the city showed up!"

The arms wrapped loosely around him from behind tightened as a low chuckle rang in his ear. "My fans are very dedicated."

"That's for sure." Leaning back into Kaito's embrace, he tilted his head back to peer at him. "Shouldn't you be going? If you don't, you're going to be late."

"Can't have that." Reluctantly relinquishing his hold on Shinichi, the thief stepped back and adjusted his outfit, double-checking that he had everything he needed (and some things he didn't, but hey, it was always good to be prepared). "Are you sure you don't want to join us for the festivities? I promise it'll be fun."

Shinichi had no doubts about that—Kaito would definitely have fun. Everyone else? Probably not so much. "That's all right. I think I'd like to watch today."

Today he wanted to believe in magic. Besides, he didn't need to catch the gentleman thief anymore. He had something much more important and much more valuable than a reputation. He had the magician's trust, his friendship, and (though he still wasn't sure how it had happened) his love. And they meant more to him than he could ever put into words.

"I'll be sure to make it a worthwhile show then," Kaito declared, tipping his hat down as his smirk widened into something more manic. Leaning down, he placed a kiss on Shinichi's lips before he leapt over the balcony railing without a hint of hesitation and disappeared. A moment later a series of explosions sounded around the mansion property, sending fountains of multicolored smoke pluming into the sky. As it blew away it left behind a building that had been completely transformed from a mansion to something reminiscent of a fairytale castle. The KID fans gathered around the grounds broke out into awed gasps, cheers and applause and Nakamori began to bellow at his men.

The heist had begun.

**TBC**

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><p><strong>A.N<strong>: And there we go! This was actually supposed to be the end, but since I said I'd do something with Shinichi's parents in it, there's going to be an epilogue. I don't know when it'll be up though since I still have to figure out how it's going to go. Anyhow, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everyone! And thanks for reading/reviewing. ^_^


	42. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I don't own DCMK

**A.N**: I'm back! Er, to be honest, I think this story still ends better at the end of the actual last chapter (I like how it begins and ends with a heist, but the situations have become totally different. Kind of like going full circle I suppose), but since I said I'd write an epilogue, here it is! It was a lot harder to write than I thought it would be and didn't quite turn out the way I envisioned ^.^U. It's also three times as long as I thought it would be. Ah well… Oh, I'm also putting a list of people and powers at the end for reference.

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><p><strong>Midnight White<strong>

Epilogue

Shinichi let out a sigh of relief as he stepped out of the Teitan High campus gates. It was the last day of his considerably extended testing schedule. It felt like forever since he'd last emerged into the light of day since he'd spent what felt like every waking moment in the past few days either testing, studying, or sleeping. The sudden ending of it all felt almost…surreal, frankly.

He let out a yelp as someone grabbed him just outside the gates and spun him around. "Shin-chan! You're alive!"

Shinichi flailed around, trying to get his feet back on the ground. "Kaito!"

The magician set him down and stepped back, giving him a careful once over as though he hadn't seen Shinichi in years when really he'd seen him just the other day when he'd come by to make sure his detective remembered that eating and sleeping were just as helpful—if not more so—than studying. "So you're free now right?"

"You make it sound like I was in jail or something," Shinichi huffed, straightening out his clothes. "But yes, I'm free."

"Great! Then let's go." Looping an arm through Shinichi's, the magician set off at a brisk pace, forcing Shinichi to run to keep up.

"Where are we going?"

"On vacation," Kaito replied in a tone that suggested he thought Shinichi should have known the answer already. "Don't worry, I've already arranged everything. Our train leaves in half an hour."

"Train?" the detective repeated, somewhat taken aback. "But I don't have anything with me."

"I packed for you."

"Oh…um, thanks. I guess I should have known huh?"

"Anytime. And yes, you should have."

Shinichi thought vaguely that he should probably be annoyed that the thief had broken into his house—_again!_—but by now he just couldn't be bothered. It was clearly a lost cause. And, well, it was _Kaito_.

X

The train raced along its tracks as the surrounding world slipped past in silent streams of color. Shinichi leaned comfortably against Kaito's shoulder, half dozing as he listened to the rhythmic rumble of the train around them. All the anxious tension of the last few days of exams had drained away by now, leaving behind it a boneless weariness that dragged at his eyelids and his thoughts.

As he drifted in and out of sleep, the line between reality and dreams blurred. At times he was on the train, wondering fuzzily at how no one had screamed about dead people yet and that Kaito wasn't wreaking havoc on their fellow passengers. At other times he was in the Kuroba house just before exams had begun when the magician had decided it was time his detective was officially introduced to his mother.

_ "Hi Mom, this is my detective! His name is Kudo Shinichi, I'm sure you've seen him in the papers before. Shin-chan, this is my mom. She's amazing and the best cook in the world!"_

He had liked Kaito's mother. She was calm, cheerful and kind and she really was every bit the fantastic cook that Kaito said she was. Of course, Shinichi had already eaten her cooking before, so he knew that long before he'd ever met her.

It was a relief beyond words for him that she had welcomed him. He hadn't told Kaito (not, he suspected, that the magician needed telling) how nervous the idea of actually meeting Kuroba Chikage had made him. He'd had no idea what she was expecting and all he'd been able to think about was how often he'd been told that he was too blunt or just socially inept. Sonoko still reminded him of it every chance she got (although mostly it was when she was complaining about not understanding why KID-sama had spent so much time working with _him_ during the Imazaki fiasco but had barely said anything at all to _her_. And what was this she'd heard about her KID-sama carrying Shinichi out of the building in his arms? Okay, so it was a life and death situation, but still! Life was so unfair. At which point Shinichi would tune her out and thank all the powers that be that she didn't know—and would never know, mind you—of his real relationship with the thief. She'd probably want to kill him).

He remembered being introduced to the portrait of Kuroba Toichi and being pushed through it without warning into a room filled with all the evidence the KID task force and Hakuba were itching to get their collective hands on. Kaito even had an entire collection of newspaper and news video clippings about himself complete with dates and photographs that had to have been taken by the thief himself. Some of those photos would probably have sent Nakamori right through the roof if he'd seen them. The only thing in there, however, that had really surprised Shinichi was the car. The idea of Kaitou KID generation one all decked out in costume and driving around in the equally white vehicle was…well, kind of funny in a kind of horrifying way. Talk about no regard for law enforcement. He wondered if Kaito had ever taken it out for a spin but in the rush of everything the magician wanted to show him it had completely slipped his mind to ask.

_ "He's just like his father, you know," Chikage laughed, watching as her son juggled the dishes he was collecting from the table for washing._

He dreamed of being carried up an invisible flight of stairs by Kaito, who was saying something about wanting to show him what the stars looked like up close. He'd pointed out that there wasn't any oxygen up there, but the magician had only laughed and promised he would bring some.

"_Oh, well, I guess that's all right then,"_ he'd relented. It didn't occur to him to wonder how Kaito was going to do that.

"Shin-chan, it's time to get up," a familiar voice announced as the shoulder he'd been sleeping on shifted.

He grumbled an incoherent protest but swayed groggily back into an upright position. Kaito said something else then but the words turned into a fuzzy buzz of syllables in the detective's sleep-befuddled mind. He covered a yawn and blinked rapidly in an attempt to force the cobwebs away. Then something warm was pressed into his hands and the familiar aroma of hot coffee filled his senses. He didn't need to be awake to know what that meant.

A few happy minutes of coffee heaven later, he lowered his cup with a contented sigh and looked up. Kaito was watching him with a distinctly amused expression that made Shinichi's face heat up.

"I haven't gotten much sleep recently," he grumbled in his defense.

The magician laughed. "I know. But frankly you're like that even when you do. You should be careful though," he added as an afterthought. "You never know what could happen when you're still in lala land. You could be kidnapped and you wouldn't even notice until it was too late."

Shinichi rolled his eyes. "Kidnapped by who? You? The only person who's ever in my house that early is you."

"I'm just saying. Anyways, I presume that you are awake enough to get going now?"

Fighting the urge to turn red in embarrassment, Shinichi nodded and let Kaito pull him to his feet. That, however, was when he noticed the dark lines on the back of his right hand. Confused, he tugged said hand out of the magician's grasp and stared at it. Then he stared at it some more.

"Kaito," he said slowly. "Why is there a KID caricature drawing on my hand?"

"Really?" Kaito leaned in to look with what would look—to anyone who didn't know better—like honest curiosity. "What do you know, there is! Now how did that get there?"

Shinichi was not impressed. "Did you really have nothing better to do?"

"Like draw it somewhere else?" the magician suggested with a cheeky grin and a wink that had Shinichi making a mental note to check himself in the next reflective surface he came across.

"Just—let me go find some soap and water. Then you can tell me where we are."

X

It turned out Kaito had brought them to a hot spring resort. They—or rather Kaito, since he was the only person who knew where it all was—deposited their belongings in their room before declaring that their first order of business would be to get some food. The life of the whole town was centered around the area's many springs, but the particular hotel Kaito had found for them was known for a restaurant with a spectacular view of the place's sprawling garden. Gravel paths wove intricate patterns through the flowerbeds. Visitors wandered along these paths in ones and twos, enjoying the garden's quiet splendor and each other's company.

The restaurant itself was mostly open to the sky. Tables and chairs sat spread across a spacious patio. It was bright and the atmosphere was cheerful. It was also crowded.

"I think I see an empty table over there," Shinichi exclaimed, pointing to the far corner of the dining area to a small, round table right beside the patio rails. It was the first open table they'd seen in their last ten minutes of searching despite it being still too early for most people's dinnertimes.

"Better hurry before we lose it! Hold on tight, Shin-chan."

Shinichi didn't have time to answer. There was a puff of smoke, the sensation of a strong arm wrapped tight around him, and a bewildering rush of motion. It felt a bit like flying and a bit like being spun around really fast. Afterward, Shinichi couldn't really describe what had happened, except that one moment he was standing there and the next he was all the way across the room beside the empty table. Dizzy and disoriented, he sat down hard in the empty chair beside him.

"Why can't you ever warn me before you do things like that?" he grumbled. "I know I've asked—several times."

"And every time I remind you, where would the fun be in that? Besides, it's cute the way you cling to me when you're surprised~." He laughed then yelped as Shinichi stepped on his foot.

"I do not cling," the detective huffed, picking up a menu and burying his face in it. He was actually pretty hungry, though he hadn't noticed until now. He'd been too tired earlier to think about such trivial things. The nap he'd had on the train had helped a lot though, and now everything on the menu looked good.

"Take your time," Kaito advised, smiling faintly at the focused expression on Shinichi's face. His detective rarely showed that much interest in edible substances unless it was caffeinated and came in a cup. "I'll go get us something to drink."

Refreshments at this particular venue were all self-served. They had been arrayed on a long counter along one wall beneath a scroll depicting misty, mountain peaks. He noted with amused delight that they had five different brands of hot chocolate. Now which one to try first… A few minutes later, he had two brimming mugs and was heading back to his table when he was interrupted by a surprised gasp.

"Kaito?"

Turning at the sound of his name, he found the girl seated at the table behind him looking up with a bewildered and slightly incredulous expression on her all too familiar face.

"Aoko?" he exclaimed in surprise. "What in the world are you doing here?"

She blinked at him, just as shocked to see him as he was to see her. "Me? Saguru and I came with my dad. This place currently has a special promotion for law enforcement officers because of some case the Tokyo PD helped them out with recently. I don't know the details, but they gave out a lot of free and discounted packages. But what about you? What are you doing here?"

"Well, obviously I'm here on holiday. It is, after all, our last bit of free time before college."

Aoko nodded then glanced at the two cups in his hands. "Are you here with someone?"

Kaito had a quick debate with himself on whether he should be honest. On the one hand, Aoko was one of the few people he tried not to lie to when he didn't have a reason (because there were oh so many reasons all the time), but she was here with Hakuba, and, despite their differences, Hakuba and Shinichi could go on forever about Holmes (with great enjoyment at that). It was the one topic that reliably came up every time the two met. While Kaito could understand the delight of having someone with whom you could discuss a shared interest, he had arranged this whole venture so he and Shinichi could finally have some time to themselves. No cases, no villains, no mysterious people with suspicious agendas, and definitely no nosy acquaintances. Aoko, however, was the daughter of a police inspector, had a detective for a boyfriend, and was planning to join the police in the future. Therefore, she had naturally immediately begun to scan the area for other familiar faces. And of course his Shin-chan's rather peculiar hairstyle was easy enough to spot.

"Oh, that's Kudo-kun, isn't it? Did you two come together?"

Well, no point hiding it anymore. "That's right. He only finished his exams this morning."

"Whoa, really? That's…kind of extreme, isn't it?"

Kaito shrugged. "Yeah, but he did miss a lot of school while he was away. As far as I can tell, he's grateful they let him do all that makeup work and take the extra exams so he could graduate this year."

Aoko considered this piece of news then shook her head. "I guess that makes sense… But really, all that and he was still working cases? It's no wonder he always looks tired."

She didn't know the half of it, he mused. Drilling it into Shinichi that he didn't _have_ to solve every single case that showed up on his radar was an ongoing project in which Kaito had to admit, with chagrin, that he was only just beginning to make headway. It was a delicate balance, seeing as Kaito had to agree that killers had to be put behind bars, he just didn't think Shinichi should be responsible for solving every murder case in Tokyo. The police existed for a reason after all, and several of them were pretty smart if just given the chance (and they weren't going to improve if his Tantei-kun did all their work for them).

"So where're your dad and Hakuba?" he asked, changing the subject.

"Oh, Dad's gone hiking with some of his friends from the precinct. Saguru's supposed to meet me here once he's done feeding Watson."

"He brought his _bird_?"

"Well, apparently she said she wanted to come along." Aoko giggled a little at her own statement before turning raised eyebrows on Kaito. "I don't see why you sound so incredulous. I mean, you bring your birds to all sorts of places all the time. At least Saguru doesn't use his to play pranks on people."

The magician rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just tell Hakuba to keep his long nose to himself while we're here or I won't be held responsible for what happens." Because he was going to have a good time and no one was going to get in the way of it! Although, hopefully, the fact that Aoko was here too should be helpful in that regard.

"Oh grow up," the girl retorted. "Honestly, everyone here is here to relax. Don't go starting any fights just because you think everything's always about you."

"I do not start fights," he shot back, drawing himself up in indignation. "Violence is for the artless. Now, if you'll excuse me, I don't want these drinks to get cold."

"See you later then. Say hi to Kudo-kun for me."

"I will. Later."

Leaving Aoko, he wove his way through the tables, carefully stepping around several children who appeared to be playing some kind of game of tag amidst the crowd of table, chair, and human legs alike. He had almost reached his table when he spotted yet another familiar figure. This one, however, was far less welcome—and it was sitting at his table! Wasn't he supposed to be feeding his bird? Or looking for Aoko?

But no. Not only was Hakuba sitting at _his_ table, but he was sitting there wearing that ridiculous Holmes outfit that Kaito had always thought made him look even more like a twit than he already was. And that wasn't an easy feat. But he digressed. The point was that Hakuba had no right sitting in his chair!

There was a flash and a thud and several startled yells. When people could see again, they looked around for the source only to find a neon pink hawk beating a hasty retreat as an equally bright pink, teenage boy picked himself up off the floor. Said teen was staring down at his now blazing pink hands and clothes. There was a moment of silence. Then he burst out with a, "Kuroba!" even before he looked up at the culprit now occupying the chair he'd been pushed out of.

The magician glanced at him and blinked in the perfect facsimile of surprise. "Oh, Hakuba, didn't see you there. Nice color, by the way. You'd be great at helping the old ladies cross the streets safely at night."

The blonde opened and closed his mouth then spun on his heels and marched away, muttering something about not giving certain thieves the satisfaction of getting under his skin.

"Why did you do that?" Shinichi asked in mild exasperation as they watched Hakuba storm off.

"He stole my chair," the thief replied as though that explained everything—which, in his mind, it did. Master thieves did not get stolen from.

"He was just saying hello," the detective felt obliged to point out, even though he knew it wouldn't make a difference. "He's here with the Nakamoris."

Kaito made a noncommittal noise and changed the subject by handing Shinichi his coffee.

X

Looking back later, Kaito had to wonder if he should have taken that first meeting as an omen and found them somewhere else to spend the rest of their vacation (like maybe another country).

It started when he'd coaxed Shinichi into going to the hot springs with him—"It's therapeutic!"—only to find it full of policement-literally. Not only were half the KID task force there, but Megure, Shiratori, and the rest of Division One. Instead of relaxing, they spent the entire evening listening to Megure and Nakamori-keibu arguing about the jurisdiction of old cases they'd worked together. This shouldn't have been any of their business, but Shinichi practically worked for Megure these days and Nakamori saw Kaito as a sort of surrogate son. Therefore, the two inspectors decided that it was fair game in their debate to drag the two teens in as "witnesses" (regardless of the fact that neither knew anything about the cases in question—some of which had taken place before they'd been born). By the time they'd escaped, Shinichi could barely keep his eyes open. He didn't even remember getting back to their room.

The following day they ran into Ran and Yamada at breakfast. From there, they were swept along to a meeting with Sonoko and a group of other new high school graduates intent on recruiting everyone they could lay their hands on for a ping pong tournament.

They were halfway through said ping pong tournament when a man at the other end of the recreation hall let out a gargled scream and collapsed.

No, it wasn't murder. The man had simply had a heart attack (a natural one, uninspired by any malicious outsiders). They even managed to rush him to the hospital in time to save his life. But there went most of the afternoon, especially since his dear detective had to be one hundred percent sure that it had been an accident.

"Come on Shin-chan, we don't want to miss the fireworks!"

"We still have half an hour," Shinichi pointed out between gasps for breath as he was hauled along the street. "There's no reason to run."

"But we want good seats," the thief shot back. He'd been watching the clock like a cat watching a mouse throughout the heart attack incident before he'd decided enough was enough and proceeded to half carry, half drag Shinichi away from the scene.

"Couldn't you just, you know, make us our own seats like last time?"

"I could, but then we wouldn't get the special deserts they're passing out during the fireworks tonight."

Kaito was an expert at slipping into difficult places, and that included through a milling crowd. Due to his sharp eyes and quick footwork, the two teens managed to snag some of the best seats in the open-air dining area where it seemed everyone in town had gathered to watch the fireworks.

It was Shinichi who spotted them first. It was Satou-keiji sitting two tables away from them. With her sat Takagi-keiji.

And, of course, if Takagi and Satou were here…

He looked around. It wasn't hard to spot the clusters of disguised policemen—especially when they were all watching the pair with scheming, envious eyes.

"Shin-chan? What're you looking at?"

Wordlessly, Shinichi pointed out the officers in question. Even as he did so, they saw several of the officers stand up. Two acquired large cups of fruit juice from a waiter while the others circled around. Then the two groups started towards each other on a path that coincidentally—or rather intentionally—would have them meeting beside Takagi and Satou-keiji's table.

"They're going to run into each other and spill those drinks, aren't they?" Kaito observed.

"Looks that way," Shinichi sighed. "I don't understand why they can't just leave them alone already. It's been years."

"Ah, the human need to struggle against the inevitable."

"You could stop them, you know. I think those two deserve a break."

Well, it wasn't every day Shin-chan practically _asked_ him to pull a prank—on policemen, no less.

The scene that followed would have been right at home in a slapstick comedy.

It started when the two men carrying drinks rebounded off of something—no one knew what—and went flying backwards like they'd been released from a slingshot. Both cups of juice went flying as well, spilling their contents in a colorful spray across several unsuspecting heads. The first officer crash-landed on a table, tipping it over and spilling its contents into the laps of its occupants. The table itself hit the ground with a thud, just so happening to smash one man's toes. He let out a pained yell and lurched backwards. His chair toppled over and he landed on the next table over to similar effects. The second officer swept two consecutive tables clean with his back before bringing down a waitress. She let out a cry of surprise and no little pain as her tray of drinks spun away and her shoulder caught the edge of yet another table. In moments, the entire dining area was in chaos.

Kaito blinked as Shinichi dropped his face into his hands. "That…wasn't what I had in mind."

If anyone had taken a survey of the people gathered in the area, they would have found that only four people had actually watched the fireworks that night.

They tried hiking the day after that. The weather was beautiful and the air crisp and clean. It was the ideal weather for an outdoors adventure. No one could have asked for better.

Which was probably why the trails were currently cluttered with what felt an awful lot like highway traffic on legs.

"Oi! Kudo! Kuroba! I didn't realize you two would be here," Hattori Heiji remarked as he came to a stop before them. "Did you come with the Tokyo PD?"

Kaito twitched behind his Poker Face.

Seriously, this was ridiculous! So not only was everyone from Tokyo and their PET here, the people from Osaka were too?!

X

"You're annoyed, aren't you," Shinichi stated more than asked. He and Kaito had only just left Hattori and Kazuha's company and sat down in a promising-looking restaurant. The place was packed though, like just about every other dining venue in town, and they had been told they would have to share a table with another party. Said other party had left temporarily to say hello to their own old friends.

Kaito snorted. "Let's see. Here I am, thinking we were finally going to be able to spend some quality time together, only lo and behold, half the city had the same idea!"

"You can't punish them for deciding to go on vacation at the same place as you," Shinichi reminded him as understanding dawned regarding that ominous sense of foreboding. "It isn't very fair."

"It would make me feel better."

"It's not that bad. This might be the last time everyone gets to spend free time together for a while. We _are_ starting university soon after all," the detective persisted in an attempt to assuage his companion's irritation before something unfortunate happened to their blissfully oblivious acquaintances only to pause as his gaze landed on two people who had just walked into the dining room. He froze, blue eyes going wide with mixed shock and horror. "Um, forget what I just said."

"What is it?" Kaito followed his gaze to the door. It took him a moment but he eventually placed where he had seen those people before. There were photos of them in Shinichi's house and he vaguely remembered meeting the woman before.

"Aren't those your _parents_?" he asked just to be sure.

Shinichi's head dropped onto the table with a thunk and a groan. "Yes, yes they are." What were they doing _here_ of all places? Hell, he hadn't even known they were in the country!

Maybe he could quietly slide under the table before they saw him. Then he could crawl through the table legs until he reached the back door. Surely there had to be one. But alas, it was too late.

While Shinichi had been trying to find an escape route, his mother's gaze had found him. Her face lit up and she turned to say something to the bespectacled man beside her. Then they were both making their way through the restaurant towards them. The woman pounced on Shinichi the moment she was close enough.

"Shin-chan! Oh, it's been so long! Come here and give mummy a hug!"

"_Mom_," Shinichi protested, face turning bright red. "I'm not a little kid anymore!"

His complaint fell on deaf ears as the former actress continued to half strangle her son with excitement. His father only stood back and watched.

Kaito observed the reunion with mixed amusement and trepidation. Of course he'd known that he would have to meet Shinichi's parents eventually, but this…wasn't how he had imagined said meeting to come to pass. To be honest, he wasn't sure what to think about the elder Kudos. On the one hand, it was only natural to want to make a good impression (the memory of that angry father with the balloon sword flashed through his mind. Not the kind of reaction he wanted to elicit from his own significant other's family members, even if it did have certain humorous points to it). After all, if Shinichi's parents disapproved, it could be problematic. Or at least rather uncomfortable for Shinichi, and Kaito didn't want that. On the other hand, he still couldn't understand why the novelist and actress lived in a foreign country, leaving their son to fend for himself years before most normal parents would even consider the idea. It complicated things a little that Shinichi seemed to prefer that his parents be anywhere but where he was, but still…

While he'd been waiting for the actress to release his detective, said detective's father had pulled out one of the empty chairs at the table and sat down, waving to a waiter and asking for a pot of tea.

"There's already someone sitting there," Kaito informed him dutifully. He could see said seat-owners out of the corner of his eye, still chattering away with their friends for the time being.

"We can move when they come back," the writer replied amiably. "Would you like some tea? I see your pot seems to have cooled."

"Sure, why not."

The steaming tea gurgled as it filled up the magician's mostly empty cup. Soft wisps of steam curled in the air over amber depths. Through them, the magician caught the author's gaze as they both studied the other.

It was Yuusaku who spoke first. "I don't believe we've met. My name is Kudo Yuusaku. And you are?"

"Kuroba Kaito," the thief replied, slipping on a casual smile. "I'm from Ekoda."

"Ah, so you're Kuroba Toichi's son then. I thought so."

Kaito blinked, though he wasn't so much surprised as bemused. He wondered what else the man had _thought_ when he'd seen them. "Did you know my dad?" he asked, though he already knew the answer.

Yuusaku nodded, his expression growing somber. "He was a good man. And a great magician."

"The best." Feeling abruptly more somber himself, Kaito took a long sip of his tea.

By now, Yukiko had stopped trying to strangle her son and taken another empty seat. Turning her smile on the magician, she leaned forward slightly. "Kaito-kun! It's been so long! How have you been?"

It was time to put his unparalleled social skills to good use. Putting on his most charming smile, he set about the task of engaging in small talk. Whether or not they ended up telling Shinichi's parents about their relationship this time around, he might as well aim for a good impression. And the more he could learn about them the better for any future dealings.

It turned out the elder Kudos had decided to come to Japan to escape Kudo Yuusaku's editors, who were worried about several deadlines he had coming up. Judging from Shinichi's exasperated look, this was something his parents—or at least his father—did quite often. The reason they had ended up here was because Yukiko had declared that it had been a long time since she'd last been able to enjoy a hot spring. They had been planning to swing by Shinichi's place afterward. But, of course, now they had been saved the trouble.

"There does seem to be a lot of familiar faces around," Yuusaku had commented at one point.

"I guess everyone needs to unwind after what happened," Shinichi mused. He could understand the feeling. It was like finally being able to breathe freely again after holding your breath for a really long time.

Yukiko's eyes lit up with interest. News about the bizarre fiasco that had befallen Tokyo had spread across Japan then proceeded to travel overseas, but no one who hadn't seen anything with their own two eyes was sure which bits were true and which bits were exaggeration or plain old fanciful thinking.

The rest of dinner was spent telling the two elder Kudos about what had really happened (with some edits in detail in regards to certain thieves anyway). When the original owners of the other chairs at the table returned, they were more than excited to share table space with the famous writer and his wife. All in all, Shinichi reflected with no little relief, it was an incredibly normal kind of dinner—just like how you'd expect dinner to go when you introduced your parents to your friends. Though he'd be lying if he said he wasn't on tender hooks through the whole ordeal. His parents could be nutty and embarrassing in the way only parents could be and then some, but it seemed he was lucky today. That was one good thing that had come of so much happening recently. Just catching up on it all could occupy days if need be.

It wasn't until they were leaving that Shinichi got wind of something being up.

"Can we talk to you alone for a moment, Shinichi?" his father inquired. The night air was warm around them as they made their way through town. As it turned out, his parents were staying at the same hotel. Go figure. With his luck, they'd be right next door.

"I'll just step in here for a moment," Kaito replied with an easy grin before disappearing into the souvenir shop they were currently standing in front of.

The moment he was gone, Yukiko rounded on her son with a squeal. "Why didn't you _tell_ me you were seeing someone? You're supposed to tell your mother these things!"

Shinichi drew back, looking like a doe in headlights. This was not what he had been expecting. "I—how did—what do you—"

"Now, now," his father admonished with that infuriatingly knowing smile of his. "Don't pretend you don't know what we're talking about."

"I—didn't really have time—"

He was interrupted again, this time by his mother. "I want to know _everything_! How long has it been? Where did you meet? When did he ask you out? Have you kissed?"

The detective flushed dark red. "Mom!"

"Oh, and I want pictures!"

Shinichi blanched. "_Mom_!"

From his spot hidden by a shelf of painted lanterns, Kaito watched through the shop window as his partner's face bounce between fiery red and snow white with fascination. He'd never seen anyone's face change color so many times in so few seconds. He could read Shinichi's lips, but all that told him was that the poor detective was sputtering. What didn't he have time for? Too bad the elder Kudos both had their backs to the window.

X

"What did your parents say?"

Shinichi blushed and looked away. "Um, well…they wanted to know more about—about us."

Kaito cast a glance back over his shoulder in the direction the elder Kudos had gone. His detective sounded more embarrassed than bothered, but… "Is there a problem?"

"What? Oh, no, nothing like that. It was just them being _them_."

"I see." They turned down the hall that led to their room. "So…did they say anything about me?"

"Well, Mom said _"He's Toichi-sensei's son. I'm sure he'll take good care of my little Shin-chan"_ or something like that." She'd said a couple other things too, but he wasn't feeling up to feeding Kaito's ego at the moment. Yukiko had obviously taken quite a shine to the magician. "But really, I don't know why she thinks I need taking care of," he added in a huff. Honestly, he wasn't a little kid anymore.

Kaito blinked then grinned, slinging an arm around Shinichi's waist. "But she's right~."

"Huh? About what?"

"Why, about how I'm going to take good care of little Shin-chan, of course."

"Don't call me that," Shinichi grumbled, but his blush was back (he could swear it was developing a life of its own).

X

"Shinichi?"

There was a sleepy, "Hmm?"

"Well, we'll both be starting university soon."

"Mm hmm?"

"And we basically have the thumbs up from your parents." Though he supposed he would have to actually talk to them about it personally some time.

"Mmmmm."

"So I've been meaning to tell you, I found an apartment right by campus. There's only one room but it's pretty spacious and its got a balcony and everything."

"Mmmm…"

"I was wondering if you'd like to come live with me."

Silence.

"Shin-chan?"

Only quiet breathing answered. It seemed his detective had fallen asleep.

Smiling faintly in fond exasperation, Kaito brushed his fingers lightly through the slumbering detective's bangs. He trailed his fingertips down the side of Shinichi's face to his chin and gently turned the boy's face towards him. Leaning in, he placed a chaste kiss upon Shinichi's forehead. Then he tucked the detective's head under his chin and closed his eyes. The corners of his mouth quirked up into a sly grin.

"I'll just take that as a yes then."

So his plans had been…well, thwarted at every turn was probably a little too extreme of a description, but things certainly hadn't gone the way he would have liked. But hey, they had the rest of their lives ahead of them. That was more than enough time for a million other, better plans.

**Owari**

* * *

><p><strong>Character and Ability List:<strong>

Aizawa Erika—Elastic Pull (She has to touch the object first)

Chu—Ability to charge things he touches with energy, turning them into bombs

Hakuba Saguru—Understanding the speech of birds (However, how much the birds understand him depends on the birds themselves)

Hattori Heiji—Summoning Fire (However, this does not render him immune to it)

Imazaki Hiko—Hypnotist

Ishimoto Sakura—Acid Touch

Kimura Genichirou—Walking through things

Kudo Shinichi—Climate Control (In other words, control over temperature. However, this extends to the climate connected to the times during which these temperatures are experienced—think seasons. He has to be at the middle as it radiates out from his position.)

Kuroba Kaito—Boundaries/Force Fields (Includes the ability to dictate the properties of these boundaries such as elasticity, color, density, etc)

Mia Salinger—Generating and manipulating electricity

Mitsuki Soujiro—Speed

Nakamori Aoko—Hyper voice (Er, not the best way to put it, but suffice to say she can break things with her voice. It is dependant on her state of mind. Of course, most of the time a person is likely to raise her voice, she isn't thrilled, but should she ever truly scream for joy, nothing should happen)

Takagi Wataru—Phasing in and out of existence (That is why the more invisible he becomes, the less he is able to affect the physical world as he is changing how much the world acknowledges his existence)

Toyama Kazuha—Wind Control (Yes, she can fly, but I had to remove the scene where she fully realizes this. Maybe if I ever write more in this universe)

Satou Miwako—Empathy (I know this was never clearly stated, but those moments when she mentions sensing how Takagi was feeling, etc, were not just a figure of speech)

Sukino—Clairvoyant

Suzuki Sonoko—Weight Control

Uchimura Yui—Teleportation

Yamada Koji—Night Vision

Yamaki Nazuri—Numbing Touch

Yamaki Ryo—Water Manipulation

**Unnamed Characters:**

Copycat/Shape Shifter (Can copy the appearance and powers of someone she touches, but it only lasts for a limited amount of time)

Metal Manipulator

Tree Monster Maker (This one was probably the weirdest. So what he does is he can take a tree and convert it from a plant into a walking creature that obeys his will. He can also change them back)

**A.N**: Now it's officially over. Thank you to everyone for reading and reviewing. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it, hehe. This makes DCMK fic number 17 to be completed. Well, bye for now. Oh, and on a side note, I mentioned this in Path but I'll mention it here too—I made a DCMK music video a few weeks ago that I find pretty amusing. If you're interested in that kind of thing, the link is on my profile or fill in the one below:

(YouTube URL)/watch?V=86hEVGzABYc

Take care!


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